Recitation Behind the Imam
Question
Should Surah al-Fatiha be recited behind the imam or not? Kindly give a detailed and well-evidenced answer to this from the Qur’an and hadith, because before this request for a fatwa (istifta’) two fatwas were obtained: in one [the recitation] is forbidden, and in the other the recitation of Surah al-Fatiha is declared necessary.
Answer
The station of a muqallid is that he acts upon the rulings (masa’il) which his imam derived (istinbat) by understanding the Qur’an and hadith, and does not make his practice dependent on knowing the source and the proof.
Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya
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