Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,

As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh. (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)

One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:

Assalamu alaikum,

Same doubt for all zikrs we recite or spell during namaaz with Imam - do we need to spell OR recite it ourself if we are praying with Imam ?

JazaakkAllah Khair

(There may be some grammatical and spelling errors in the above statement. The forum does not change anything from questions, comments and statements received from our readers for circulation in confidentiality.)

Answer:

The recitation of dhikr in congregation imaam

In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is none worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 7 Surah Aaraf verse 204:

When the Quran is recited to you, listen to it with attention and keep silent. It may be that you also are blessed with mercy.

When offering one’s prayer in congregation behind the ‘imaam’, whenever the ‘imaam’ happens to recite the Verses of the Glorious Quran aloud in the prayers, one should remain absolutely silent and listen to the recitation of the Glorious Quran….but whenever the ‘imaam’ is silent, one must recite the appropriate Verses of the Quran or the declarations of ‘dhikr’ which are required in one’s prayers.

If by ‘dhikr’ you mean the ‘takbeer’ (Allah-o-Akbar) which is declared to initiate the prayers, or the ‘tasbeeh’ one makes when in the state of ‘ruku’, or the ‘tasbeeh’ and the supplications one makes when in the ‘sujood’ in prayer, or the ‘dhikr’ one makes when sitting for the ‘tashahud’ in prayer, etc….indeed the declaration of such ‘dhikr’ is the individual responsibility of each and every person in prayer.

Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me alone. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

Your brother and well wisher in Islam,

Burhan