Tafsir of Ta-Ha 20:7

Accordingly, His saying, the Exalted: "And if you speak aloud," etc., is a clarification of the encompassing nature of His knowledge, the Exalted, over all things, following the clarification of the encompassing nature of His power over all creatures. The address, according to what is stated in al-Bahr, is to the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), and the intention is his Ummah (may the peace and blessings be upon him). It is also permitted that it be general: "If you, O human, raise your voice in speech, 'for indeed He knows the secret'—that is, what you have hidden from others and have not raised your voice with—'and [what is] more hidden'—that is, and something even more hidden than that, which is what you have caused to cross your mind without ever uttering it at all." This has been narrated from al-Hasan and Ikrimah. Or, it means what you have hidden within your soul and what you will hide therein, which is narrated from Sa'id ibn Jubayr. It is also narrated from the two masters, al-Baqir and al-Sadiq, that the "secret" is what you have hidden in yourself, and the "more hidden" is what crossed your mind and you then forgot.

It is said that "more hidden" (akhfa) is a past-tense verb linked to "knows" (ya'lamu), meaning that He, the Exalted, knows the secrets of the servants, and He hides what He knows, the Glorified, from them. This is like His saying, the Exalted: "He knows what is before them and what will be after them, but they do not encompass it in knowledge." Abu al-Shaykh narrated this in al-'Azamah from Zayd ibn Aslam, but this is highly contrary to the apparent meaning. The reliance is upon it being a superlative noun, and its indefiniteness is for the sake of hyperbole in concealment. The primary understanding of "speech" includes the remembrance of Allah and others, and some have leaned towards this. A group has specified it to His remembrance, the Glorified, and supplicating to Him, given that the definite article is for reference, because the equality of the loud and the secret before Him, the Exalted—which is indicated in the discourse—necessitates the [equality of] the loudness mentioned in His address, the Almighty. Regarding both opinions, His saying, the Exalted, "For indeed He..." acts as the response to the conditional clause, though it is not the response in reality, for His knowledge, the Exalted, of the secret and the more hidden is established before, during, and without the speech being spoken aloud.

According to some, the underlying meaning is: "If you speak aloud, know that Allah, the Exalted, knows it, for He knows the secret and what is more hidden, let alone it [the aloud speech]." According to a group: "If you speak aloud, know that Allah, the Glorified, is free of need for your loudness, for indeed He..." This, as it is said, is guidance to the servants to be cautious and circumspect when speaking aloud, for whoever knows that Allah, the Exalted, knows his loudness will not speak of evil aloud. Loudness was specified for this because it is the medium for most conversations and human discourse. It is also said: It is guidance to the servants that the loudness in the remembrance of Allah and supplication to Him is not for Him, the Glorified, to hear, but for another purpose: such as imprinting the soul with the remembrance, establishing it therein, preventing it from preoccupying itself with other things, cutting off whisperings, and so on. It is also said: It is a prohibition against loudness in remembrance and supplication, like His saying, the Exalted: "And remember your Lord within yourself in humility and with fear, and without speaking aloud." You know that the statement that loudness in remembrance and supplication is forbidden should not be taken as absolute.

The position established by Imam al-Nawawi in his Fatawa is that loudness in remembrance—where there is no legal impediment—is legislated and encouraged; in fact, it is superior to concealment in the school of Imam al-Shafi'i. This is the apparent position of the school of Imam Ahmad and one of the two narrations from Imam Malik, as reported by the Hafiz Ibn Hajar in Fath al-Bari. This is also the statement of the two Qadis in their Fatawa in the chapter regarding the issues of the manner of recitation. As for his statement in the chapter on washing the deceased—"Raising the voice in remembrance is disliked"—it is apparent that this applies to one walking with a funeral, as is the position of the Shafi'is, not absolutely, as the expression in al-Bahr al-Ra'iq and others might imply. This is the position of the two Imams regarding the Takbir of 'Id al-Fitr, just like 'Id al-Adha, and it is a narration from Imam Abu Hanifah himself (may Allah be pleased with him). Indeed, in his Musnad, there is that which gives the appearance of recommending loudness in remembrance absolutely. Yes, Ibn Nujaym said in al-Bahr, quoting the investigator Ibn al-Humam in Fath al-Qadir, the text of which is: "Abu Hanifah said: Raising the voice in remembrance is an innovation contrary to the command in His saying, the Exalted: 'And remember your Lord within yourself,'—the verse—so one should limit oneself to what the Lawgiver has provided. It has been prescribed for [the days of] al-Adha, which is His saying, the Glorified: 'And remember Allah during [specific] numbered days.'"

Al-Suyuti answered the reliance upon the previous verse in Natijat al-Dhikr with three points: First, that it is Meccan, and when the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) migrated, that [ruling] lapsed. Second, that a group of commentators, including 'Abd al-Rahman ibn Zayd ibn Aslam and Ibn Jarir, interpreted the verse as referring to the state of reciting the Qur'an, and that it was a command to him (may the peace and blessings be upon him) to remember in this manner out of reverence for the Qur'an, so that voices would not be raised near it; this is strengthened by its connection to His saying, the Exalted: "And when the Qur'an is recited..." Third, what some Sufis mentioned: that the command in the verse is specific to the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), the Perfect and Perfecter, whereas others—who are susceptible to whisperings—are commanded to speak aloud because it is more effective in repelling them; there is much to be said about this.

Some investigators chose the view that the intention is "without a loudness that is extreme or exceeds the measure of need," thus moderate loudness and loudness to the extent of need are included in what is commanded. Indeed, it has been authentically established in more than twenty hadiths that he (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) often spoke aloud in remembrance. It has also been authentically established from Abu al-Zubayr that he heard 'Abdullah ibn al-Zubayr say: "The Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), when he finished his prayer, would say with his highest voice: 'There is no god but Allah alone, no partner has He; to Him belongs the dominion, to Him belongs the praise, and He is over all things capable. There is no power or strength except in Allah, and we do not worship anyone but Him; to Him belongs the grace, to Him belongs the favor, and to Him belongs the good praise. There is no god but Allah, sincere in the religion to Him, even if the disbelievers dislike it.'" This is interpreted as being necessitated by the need for teaching and the like. Regarding the hadith in the Sahihayn from Abu Musa al-Ash'ari, who said: "We were with the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), and when we climbed a valley, we would say Tahlil and Takbir, and our voices would rise. The Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) said: 'O people, be gentle with yourselves, for you are not calling upon one who is deaf or absent; indeed, He is with you, He is All-Hearing, Near,'" this is interpreted as meaning that the prohibition—inferred by implication from the command "be gentle," which means "be easy and do not exhaust yourselves"—is directed against exaggeration in raising the voice.

By dividing "loudness" and the differences in its types regarding ruling, one can reconcile the two differing narrations from Imam Abu Hanifah. What is mentioned in al-Waqi'at from Ibn Mas'ud—that he saw a people doing Tahlil with raised voices in the mosque and said: "I see you as nothing but innovators," until he expelled them from the mosque—is not authentic according to the leading Hafiz scholars of Hadith. Even if it were authentic, it is contradicted by what indicates that loudness was established from him (may Allah be pleased with him), as narrated by more than one of the Hafiz scholars, or it is interpreted as referring to "extreme loudness."

The report "The best remembrance is the hidden one, and the best provision or life is that which suffices" is authentic. Imam al-Suyuti attributed it to Imam Ahmad, Ibn Hibban, and al-Bayhaqi from Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas, and Abu al-Fath attributed it in Silah al-Mu'min to Abu 'Awanah in his Sahih Musnad as well. It is interpreted as applying to one who is in a place where they fear showing off, vanity, or the like. It has also been authentically established that he (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) spoke aloud in supplication and exhortation. However, more than one of the dignitaries said: "The hidden supplication is superior." Loudness, according to what Ibn Hajar al-Haytami mentioned in al-Manhaj al-Qawim, is defined as being such that another can hear it, and whispering is such that one hears oneself. Among the Hanafis, in one narration, the minimum for loudness is hearing oneself, and the minimum for whispering is the correction of letters; this is the statement of al-Karkhi.

In the book of Imam Muhammad, there is an indication of this. The most correct view, as stated in al-Muhit, is the statement of the two Sheikhs, al-Hinduwani and al-Fadli, which is what the majority hold: that the minimum for loudness is hearing someone else, and the minimum for whispering is hearing oneself. From here, it is said in Fath al-Qadir: "Indeed, the 'correction of letters' without sound is an allusion to forming letters with the muscles of the articulation points, not [the production of] letters themselves, because letters are a quality that presents to sound. Therefore, if the known sound is negated, the accidental letter is negated. Where there is no letter, there is no speech in the sense of the 'spoken,' and no recitation in the sense of the 'act of the tongue.' Thus, there is no whispering upon the negation of sound, just as there is no loudness." Thus it is concluded.

Sheikh Ibrahim al-Kurani (may Allah have mercy on him) authored two magnificent treatises on the investigation of this issue: the first he named Nashr al-Zahr fi al-Dhikr bi al-Jahr, and the second Ithaf al-Munib al-Awwah bi Fadl al-Jahr bi Dhikr Allah. In them, he refuted some of the scholars of the Hanafi school from the ninth century—from among the dignitaries of the state of Mirza Ulugh Beg ibn Shah Rukh al-Kurkani—who spoke absolutely of loudness in remembrance being a forbidden innovation and authored a treatise on that. Perhaps, if Allah wills, there will come an extended explanation to investigate this issue further. And Allah, the Exalted, is the Granter of success.