Can I Recite Loudly in Every Prayer Due to Waswasa?

Answered by Ustadh Tabraze Azam

Question

For the past two-three years I have experienced huge difficulties during my salahs; I can’t recite quietly anymore. I always have this feeling that I’m not reciting correct and I feel that I have developed anxiety! Is it makruh for me to recite loudly in every single prayer? If it’s makruh for me to recite out loud, is it then kufr, if: – If I say ‘alhamduliLlah’ to a prayer recited out loudly?

Answer

I pray that you are in the best of health and faith, insha’Allah.

No, it would not be considered disbelief (kufr) to say an utterance of gratefulness in praise of the One who gifted you the prayer.

Secondly, according to the Hanafi school, it is necessary (wajib) to recite quietly for the ‘quiet prayers’, Dhuhr and Asr, and the third and fourth cycles (raka‘at) of Maghrib and ‘Isha. [Shurunbulali, Maraqi al-Falah; ‘Ala al-Din ‘Abidin, al-Hadiyya al-‘Ala’iyya]

Defining Quietness

Reciting quietly means that one’s lips move, even if without sound. Shaykh Faraz Rabbani relates from his teachers that this is the fatwa position in our times.

The second opinion with regards to reciting quietly is that one would be able to hear oneself under normal circumstances. This is as opposed to reciting aloud wherein one would recite such that others in the same room could clearly hear one. [ibid.]

Therefore, if you are reciting ‘aloud’ such that others probably couldn’t hear you or make out what you are saying, this would not be considered ‘aloud’ and leaving the necessary (wajib) act.

Ignoring Misgivings and Directing one’s Focus

Ignore any misgivings that you may have about your prayers. Pray focusing on the Divine, out of love and yearning, and express gratitude for the blessing. Don’t worry about ‘not reciting correctly’ and other such thoughts. Do your best and trust in Allah. “In the bounty of God, and His mercy — in that let them rejoice.” [Quran, 10:58]

It is related from ‘A’isha that the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) said, “Someone who recites the Qur’an and knows it by heart is with the noble pure scribes, and someone who recites it, taking care with it when it is hard for them will have two rewards.” [Bukhari]

And Allah alone gives success.

Wassalam,

[Ustadh] Tabraze Azam
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Ustadh Tabraze Azam holds a BSc in Computer Science from the University of Leicester, where he also served as the President of the Islamic Society. He memorized the entire Qur’an in his hometown of Ipswich at the tender age of sixteen, and has since studied the Islamic Sciences in traditional settings in the UK, Jordan, and Turkey. He is currently pursuing advanced studies in Jordan, where he is presently based with his family.