Qur'aan is being read, and my friend and I are sitting apart from the
others whoare present, and chatting together;
If we are in a car or bus, and the driver is listening to Qur'aan or
is reciting it, and we are not taking partin what he is reciting, or
we are in a room and there is someone there who is praying one of the
prayers in which Qur'aan isto be recited out loud, or is reading
Qur'aan out loud;
Or in any other situation ina place where Qur'aan is being recited and
we are not taking part in it, must we listen attentively until the
reciter finishes, and does the verse apply to us?.
~
Praise be to Allaah.
The scholars differed concerning the ruling on listening attentively
to recitation of Qur'aan outside of prayer. There are two opinions:
1 – The first view is that is it obligatory. This is the view of the
Hanafis, and some of them regarded it as an individual obligation,
whilst others said that it is a communal obligation. They quoted
asevidence the verse in which Allaah says (interpretation of the
meaning):
"So, when the Qur'aan is recited, listen to it, and be silent that you
may receive mercy"
[al-A'raaf 7:204]
It says in al-Mawsoo'ah al-Fiqhiyyah (4/86):
Listening to recitation of Qur'aan when it is recited outside of
prayer is obligatory if there is no legitimate shar'i excuse fornot
listening.
The Hanafis differed with regard to this obligation: is it an
individual obligation or a communal obligation?
Ibn 'Aabideen said: The basic principle is that listening to Qur'aan
is a communal obligation, because it is establishing its right to be
listened to and not ignored, which is achieved by some listening
attentively, as is the case with returning salaams (i.e., it is
sufficient for some members of a group to return the greeting).
Al-Hamawi narrated that his teacher, the prominentjudge Yahya who is
better known as Minqaarizaadah,said that listening to the Qur'aan is
an individual obligation.
Yes, the verse in Soorat al-A'raaf, "So, when the Qur'aan is recited,
listen toit, and be silent that you may receive mercy" was revealed to
abrogate the permission to speak during prayer, but what counts is the
general meaning of the words, notthe specific reason for its
revelation, and the general meaning includes recitation of Qur'aan
both during prayer and otherwise. End quote.
2 – The second view is that it is mustahabb and recommended. They
interpreted the verse in Soorat al-A'raaf as referring to recitation
in prayer only. Outside of prayer it is recommended and mustahabb.
This is theview of the majority of scholars.
Ibn Katheer says in Tafseeral-Qur'aan il-'Azeem (2/372):
'Ali ibn Abi Talhah narrated from Ibn 'Abbaas concerning the verse
(interpretation of the meaning):
"So, when the Qur'aan is recited, listen to it, and be silent that you
may receive mercy"
[al-A'raaf 7:204]:
i.e., in the obligatory prayer. Something similar was narrated from
'Abd-Allaah ibn al-Mughaffal. Ibn Jareer said: Humayd ibn Mas'adah
told us, Bishr ibnal-Mufaddal told us, al-Jareeri told us, that Talhah
ibn 'Ubayd-Allaah ibn Kurayz said: I saw 'Ubayd ibn 'Umayr and 'Ata'
ibn Abi Rabaah talking whilst the storyteller was speaking, and I
said: Why don't you listen to the reminder, lestyou be subject to the
warning? They looked at me, then they went back to their conversation.
I repeated it, and they looked at me, then they went back to their
conversation. I said it a third time and they lookedat me and said:
That is only in prayer: "So, when the Qur'aan is recited, listen to
it, and be silent that you may receive mercy"
[al-A'raaf 7:204].
This is how it was narrated by more than one person from Mujaahid.'Abd
al-Razzaaq narrated from al-Thawri from Layththat Mujaahid said: There
is nothing wrong with speaking if a man recites Qur'aan other than in
prayer.
Something similar was stated by Sa'eed ibn Jubayr, al-Dahhaak,
Ibraheem al-Nakha'i, Qataadah, al-Sha'bi, al-Saddi and 'Abd al-Rahmaan
ibn Zayd ibn Aslam, that what is meant (in the verse) is in prayer.
This was the view favoured by Ibn Jareer, that what is meant is
listening attentively in prayer and during the khutbah, as it says in
the ahaadeeth which enjoin listening attentively behind the imam and
during the khutbah. End quote.
It seems that this view is the correct one, because inorder for a
thing to be obligatory, clear evidence is required, otherwise obliging
the people to adhere to that will clause undue hardship without any
evidence for it.
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