✅Answer: Jahr means to make the recitation and remembrance of the prayer audible and loud, and Ikhfat means to make them inaudible and quiet. According to narrations, men are obligated to recite audibly (jahr) in the morning, evening, and night prayers, the Friday noon prayer, and the 'Bismillah' of all prayers, and inaudibly (ikhfat) in the noon and afternoon prayers.

As for their limits, pay attention to the following narrations:

زُرَارَةَ عَنْ أَبِي جَعْفَرٍ قَالَ: لَا يُكْتَبُ مِنَ الْقِرَاءَةِ وَ الدُّعَاءِ إِلَّا مَا أَسْمَعَ نَفْسَهُ

📚 Al-Kafi, vol. 3, p. 313

Translation: Imam Baqir, peace be upon him, said: Nothing is written from the recitation and supplication (in prayer) except what one makes audible to his own ear.

✅This means that if the remembrances and recitation of the prayer are recited so quietly that they do not even reach one's own ear, they are not counted, and it is as if they were not recited.

سَمَاعَةَ قَالَ: سَأَلْتُهُ عَنْ قَوْلِ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَ جَلَّ وَ لا تَجْهَرْ بِصَلاتِكَ وَ لا تُخافِتْ بِها قَالَ الْمُخَافَتَةُ مَا دُونَ سَمْعِكَ وَ الْجَهْرُ أَنْ تَرْفَعَ صَوْتَكَ شَدِيداً

📚 Al-Kafi, vol. 3, p. 315

Translation: Sam'ah said: I asked (Imam Sadiq, peace be upon him) about the saying of Allah Almighty: 'Do not make your prayer loud (jahr) nor make it inaudible (ikhfat).' The Imam said: Making it inaudible is when it is less than the limit of your own hearing, and making it audible is when you raise your voice strongly.

أَبِي جَعْفَرٍ الْبَاقِرِ قَالَ: الْإِجْهَارُ أَنْ تَرْفَعَ صَوْتَكَ تُسْمِعُهُ مَنْ بَعُدَ عَنْكَ وَ الْإِخْفَاتُ أَنْ لَا تُسْمِعَ مَنْ مَعَكَ إِلَّا يَسِيراً

📚 Tafsir Qumi, p. 391

Imam Baqir, peace be upon him, said: Making it audible is when you raise your voice in such a way that you make those who are far from you hear, and making it inaudible is when you do not make those who are next to you hear, except a little.

✅It is inferred from the above narrations that in cases where we are commanded to make the recitation inaudible (ikhfat), such as in the noon and afternoon prayers, we should keep our voice at a level that reaches our own ears. In this case, the person next to us will also hear it completely. These two criteria must be observed for the recitation of the noon and afternoon prayers, and simply moving the lips and tongue for recitation and remembrance is not sufficient.

For the recitation of the morning, evening, and night prayers, the Friday noon prayer, and the 'Bismillah' of all prayers, where we are commanded to make them audible (jahr), we must let our voice be free and loud so that it crosses the boundary of inaudibility, i.e., personal hearing and the hearing of the person next to us, and becomes audible and heard by others. However, the voice should not be raised so much that those who are very far from us can also hear it.

✅It is worth noting that the verse mentioned in the second narration, which prohibits making the prayer audible and inaudible, according to the Imam's interpretation, the prohibited inaudibility is when you cannot even hear yourself, or when the person next to you hears it only a little. And also, the prohibited audibility is when you raise your voice so much that people who are very far from you can also hear it. With these limits that were explained in these few narrations, it is hoped that we can know our duty regarding audibility and inaudibility in prayer.

✅Also, pay attention to the following narration:

عَلِيِّ بْنِ يَقْطِينٍ قَالَ: سَأَلْتُ أَبَا الْحَسَنِ عَنِ الرَّجُلِ يُصَلِّي خَلْفَ مَنْ لَا يَقْتَدِي بِصَلَاتِهِ وَ الْإِمَامُ يَجْهَرُ بِالْقِرَاءَةِ قَالَ اقْرَأْ لِنَفْسِكَ وَ إِنْ لَمْ تُسْمِعْ نَفْسَكَ فَلَا بَأْسَ

📚 Tahdheeb, vol. 3, p. 36

Translation: Ali ibn Yaqtin said: I asked Imam Kazim, peace be upon him, about a person who prays behind someone he is not following, and the Imam of the congregation recites audibly (jahriyyah); The Imam said: Recite for yourself, and if you do not make the recitation audible to your ear (for the sake of 'taqiyyah'), there is no problem.

✅In another narration, Imam Sadiq, peace be upon him, also said:

يُجْزِيكَ (إِذَا كُنْتَ مَعَهُمْ مِنَ الْقِرَاءَةِ) مِثْلُ حَدِيثِ النَّفْسِ.

Meaning: When you are with opponents, for recitation, it is sufficient for your recitation to be like a mental narration and passing it through the heart.

📚 Tahdheeb, vol. 3, p. 36

✅Based on the above two narrations, in a situation of 'taqiyyah', i.e., where a person prays behind an unjust Imam of the congregation in 'taqiyyah', he is obligated to recite the prayer himself, and for the sake of 'taqiyyah' and depending on the degree of 'taqiyyah', if it is not possible to recite at the correct and necessary level, he should recite it less than his own hearing, or if the 'taqiyyah' is very severe, he should recite it like a mental narration and passing the words of the recitation through his heart.

✅Ali ibn Ja'far said: I asked Imam Kazim, peace be upon him: Is reciting audibly in prayer also obligatory on women? The Imam said: No.

📚 Qurb Al-Isnad, p. 100

✅The above narration shows that reciting audibly in the morning, evening, and night prayers, and the Friday noon prayer, is not obligatory on women.

✅We remind you to refer to questions 62, 121, and 158 of the channel in this regard.