Sheikh Muhammed Salih Al-Munajjid, can you please tell me when saying Takbir after the Imam says Takbir in Salat if it those following the Imam should say it out loud or to ones self?
Praise be to Allah.The imaam should say the Takbeerat al-Ihraam (first Takbeer) and
the Takbeeraat for the movements of the prayer aloud, so that the people behind him can
hear him and follow him. If the mosque is big and the imaam’s voice cannot reach all
the people who are praying, or his voice is weak because of sickness etc. or because that
is his nature, some of the people praying behind him can convey the Takbeeraat [by
repeating them aloud], because of the saheeh hadeeth which says that the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) led the people in prayer when he was sick, and
Abu Bakr (may Allaah be pleased with him) made the people hear the Takbeer. (Agreed upon).
With regard to the person who is praying behind the imaam, the
Sunnah is for him to say the Takbeer quietly so that only he himself can hear it. This
also applies to his recitation of Qur’aan, Takbeeraat, saying Tasbeeh in Rukoo’
etc., the Tashahhud, the Salaam and the du’aa’, whether these words are waajib
(obligatory) or naafil (supererogatory). It is not Mustahabb to make it louder than that
except where there is a need to help others who cannot hear the imaam, in which case he
should make it louder.