#1031: The Ruling On Children Doing The Morning And Evening Adhkaar Together

“Assalaamu alaykum. May Allah grant you all his pleasure and accept all the efforts. Please is it okay for children to come together and do the morning and evening azkar in congregation.”

ANSWER:

Wa Alaykum Salam Warahmatullah Wabarakaatuh.

Alhamdulillah, amin to your Du’a and may Allah crown your efforts with acceptance too, amin.

As for the doing of Adhkaar, then know that the default ruling is that it be done without the voice being audible. This is what the evidences of the Qur’an and Hadith have established.

For this reason, Imam Abu Zakariyya Yahya bn Sharafuddin An-Nawawi said:

“Ibn Battaal and other than him have narrated from the Associates of the Madhaahib that are followed, and other than them that they are in consensus that it is not recommended to raise the voice in the doing of Dhikr and Takbir” (Shar’h Al-Muslim).

It is a matter of agreement among the Fuqahaa that voices are not to be raised with Dhikr except for where the evidences of the Shariah have shown that such is recommended. The example of that is the raising of voices with Dhikr after the completion of the Obligatory Salaah. With regards to this, Imam Al-Bukhari and Muslim have recorded from Ibn ‘Abbas radiyallahu anhuma that he said:

كنا نعرف انقضاء صلاة رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم بالتكبير

“We used to know that the Messenger of Allah salallahu alayhi wasallam have completed the Salaah by the Takbir”

By the Takbir is meant that the Sahaabah ridwanullah alayhim used to raise their voices with the Takbiraat and the other Adhkaar immediately after the observance of Salaah. But know that the Fuqahaa differed with respect to this Hadith.

Of the Fuqahaa are those that held that it shows the recommendation of raising the voice with the Adhkaar and that the Rasul salallahu alayhi wasallam and the Sahaabah continued on that tradition althrough. This is the position held by Shaykhu Al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah, Ibn Hazm Al-Andalusi and Imaam Ibn Jarir At-Tabari rahimahumullah.

Whereas, Ibn Battaal and other Ulamaa maintained that the position held by all the Fuqahaa of all of the Madhaahib was that this act is not recommended as was related by Imam An-Nawawi in his Shar’h on Sahih Muslim.

The position held by Imaam Ash-Shaafi’i rahimahullah is that the Rasul salallahu alayhi wasallam only did that for a while for the purpose of teaching the Companions how the Adhkaar is to be done. And that when they had all understood it, they desisted from it.

Based on the position of those that held that it is to be done, they agreed that it was not done by way of congregation. Rather they raised their voices in the doing of it. This is known.

With respect to your question, whether Children could be gathered for this purpose, then the position of the Fuqahaa is that it is permissible.

Imaam Ash-Shaafi’i not only held that it was permissible for children, he also held that it was permissible for adults provided the reason was to teach them how it is done or to make them get used to it provided this is not overstretched beyond the period that they would normally have memorised and got used to it. He said in Al-Umm:

“And I hold that it is obligatory upon the Imaam and the Ma’amum to do the Dhikr of Allah after the completion of the Salaah and that they should do it inaudibly except in a situation where it is necessary for the Imaam to teach others, then in that situation he is to raise his voice until it is apparent that they have learnt from it after which he should return to being inaudible.”

And Allah knows best

Barakallahu fikum
Jazakumullahu Khayran.

Abū Asim

15th Shawwāl, 1441AH.

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