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What is the evidence from the Quran and Sunnah for reciting quietly in Dhuhr and `Asr, when the recitation in Fajr, Maghrib and `Isha’ is done out loud?
Praise be to Allah.
We thank you for this concern and appreciate your interest in finding out the evidence from the Quran and Sunnah at such a young age, and we ask Allah to make you of benefit to others.
Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, has commanded us to follow the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) and emulate him, as He, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):
“There has certainly been for you in the Messenger of Allah an excellent pattern for anyone whose hope is in Allah and the Last Day and [who] remembers Allah often.” [Al-Ahzab 33:21]
The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “Pray as you have seen me praying .” The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) used to recite out loud in Fajr prayer and the first two Rak`ahs of Maghrib and `Isha’, and he would recite quietly in all other cases.
Texts which refer to reciting out loud include the following:
These Hadiths indicate that the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) used to recite out loud in such a way that those who were present could hear it.
Evidence that the recitation is to be done quietly in Dhuhr and `Asr prayers includes the following:
Thus it becomes clear that reciting out loud in the prayers where that is to be done and reciting quietly in the prayers where that is to be done is the Sunnah of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), and the Muslims unanimously agreed on these rulings.
Al-Bukhari (738) and Muslim (396) narrated that Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: In every prayer you should recite. What the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) made us hear we make you hear, and what he recited quietly we recite quietly.
An-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
“The Sunnah is to recite out loud in the (first) two Rak`ahs of Fajr, Maghrib and `Isha’, and in Jumu`ah, and to recite quietly in Dhuhr and `Asr, and the third Rak`ah of Maghrib, and the third and fourth rak`ahs of `Isha’. All of this is according to the consensus of the Muslims, in addition to the authentic Hadiths that all indicate that.” (Al-Majmu` Sharh Al-Muhadhdhab, 3/389)
Ibn Qudamah (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
“Recitation should be done quietly in Dhuhr and `Asr, and out loud in the first two Rak`ahs of Maghrib and `Isha’, and in all of Fajr prayer. … The basis for that is the action of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), as is proven by the narration of later generations from earlier generations. If a person recites out loud in a place where the recitation should be done quietly, or recites quietly in a place where recitation should be done out loud, he has neglected the Sunnah, although his prayer is valid.” (Al-Mughni, 2/270)
For more details, please see the following answers: 67618 , 26268 , 197414 , 91325 , and 114369 .
And Allah knows best.