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What is the ruling on saying "Sami' Allahu wa Liman Hamidah" (Allah hears the one who praises Him) when rising from Rukoo' (bowing)?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

It is sunnah for the worshipper, when rising from bowing, to say: "Sami' Allahu liman hamidah" (Allah hears whoever praises Him), as was reported from the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him. This has been authentically reported in Sahih Al-Bukhari from Abu Hurairah and Ibn Umar, may Allah be pleased with them both. As for the imam's saying: "Sami' Allahu wa liman hamidah" (Allah hears and to whoever praises Him), there are two concerns with it: altering the prophetic wording and corrupting the meaning. This is because "Sami' Allahu liman hamidah" means "Allah answered the supplication of whoever praised Him," and adding the letter "waw" (and) corrupts this meaning. The prayer of the imam is usually valid due to his ignorance and his intention to say the correct wording, but he must be alerted and advised.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

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