Salafi Research Institute SRI
10 Books Ahlul Bidah Wished That Were Never Written!
[3] Husn al-Bayan Fima Fi Sirat un-Nu’man
Of
Shaikh Muhammad Abdul Aziz Muhammadi Rahimabadi (1338H)
Reciting Fatihah Behind The Imam and Contradictory Hanafi Principles
Compiled and Translated
Abu Hibban & Abu Khuzaimah Ansaari
The author of Sirat un-Nu’man spoke about the issue of reciting Fatihah behind the imam and whilst raising objections on Imam Bukhari he says in the issue of reciting Fatihah behind the imam, Imam Abu Hanifah uses the the ayah, “When the Quran is recited listen silently…” And Imam Bukhari said concerning this ayah in his Juzz al-Qirah that it was pertaining to the sermon and not the prayer.
Shibli Numani says how astonishing is this answer of Imam Bukhari because who does not know the ayah being revealed for a specific occasion does not take away the fact that the ruling is clearly general and therefore cannot be specific or restricted to one particular occasion in terms of its ruling
I say: this is a wild stretch of the imagination and wishful thinking of the author of Sirat an-Numan as Imam Bukhari answered this deduction of Imam Abu Hanifah from both perspectives ie in general wording and a specific occasion. It is a well known principle in the field of debate and discussions to answer every angle of the argument. It is from this principle that Imam Bukhari answered the question first and foremost from the perspective of a general wording.
What is interesting here is that the hanafis do not themselves adhere to the generality of this principle and ayah when it comes to pray the morning Sunnah prayers. This is because their Fiqh dictates that if the imam is reciting loudly in the morning obligatory prayer and a worshippers comes and he has not prayed his Sunnah prayers, then he should pray his Sunnah prayers (whilst the Jama’ah is in progress) so this by default is goes against the generality of that ayah as they claim, so where has that principle gone now?
So when you restrict this ayah to exclude sunnah prayer meaning (that the worshiper can recite Fatihah in the Sunnah prayer whilst the Jama’ah is in progress) then why cannot the ayah be restricted from the generality you claim, to reciting Fatihah in the prayer? Especially since there is not text that restricts or specifies the recitation of Fatihah in the Sunnah prayer. Whereas on the contrary their are specific texts with regards to reciting Fatihah (in all prayers) for example the Hadith of Ubadah bin as-Samit (RadhiAllaahu Anhu).
If you claim it is specific with regards to the prayer, then this specificity or restriction is not established because it is specific with regards to the sermon as Imam Bukhari elucidated. This deduction of Imam Bukhari is a testament to his incredible line of argument, contrary to the debate of Imam Abu Hanifah which we have already spoken about.
Husn al-Bayan Fima Fi Sirat un-Nu’man (pg.164)
