Hadith 1178

From Amr bin Muhammad bin Zayd, from Musa bin Sa'd bin Zayd bin Thabit, who narrated from his grandfather: He said, "Whoever recites behind the Imam, his prayer is invalid." [Narrated by Muhammad] Abdur Razzaq also narrated it from Ali. Al-Bukhari said in his Risalah al-Qira'ah: "It is not known that this chain has proper hearing from one narrator to another, and such a narration is not authentic." The response to this is, firstly, that contemporaneity and the possibility of meeting are sufficient for the majority of scholars in establishing connectivity and removing discontinuity. The requirement of proven direct meeting, as is Bukhari's strictness, is not obligatory according to the majority, as established in the principles of Hadith. Here, contemporaneity and the possibility of meeting are established between Dawood and Umar, between Umar and Musa, and between Musa and Zayd, which suffices to confirm the connection of the chain. Secondly, apparent discontinuity does not harm according to us if the narrator is trustworthy and narrates from trustworthy individuals, especially in the generations testified to for their goodness. Al-Tahawi said: "These are a group from the companions of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ who unanimously agreed on leaving recitation behind the Imam. They were supported by what has been narrated from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, which we have mentioned earlier, and their stance is further reinforced by logical reasoning, as we have explained."