About The Action of Loud Zikir
Surah Al ‘Araf ayat 205
وَاذْكُرْ رَبَّكَ فِي نَفْسِكَ تَضَرُّعًا وَخِيفَةً وَدُونَ الْجَهْرِ مِنَ الْقَوْلِ بِالْغُدُوِّ وَالْآصَالِ وَلَا تَكُنْ مِنَ الْغَافِلِينَ
7:205 And do thou (O reader!) Bring thy Lord to remembrance in thy (very) soul, with humility and in reverence, without loudness in words, in the mornings and evenings; and be not thou of those who are unheedful.
Expanation: Because of the confusion that arises from interpreting this verse, questions such as these have been asked: Can we do Zikir and recite Doa with our voices raised to the extent of shouting since the above verse forbids it?
In order to clarify the meaning of the verse related above, we will need to know and understand the circumstances in which the verse was revealed and also its relation with the previous verse.
The Preceding Verse, Surah Al Araf ayat 204
وَإِذَا قُرِئَ الْقُرْآنُ فَاسْتَمِعُوا لَهُ وَأَنْصِتُوا لَعَلَّكُمْ تُرْحَمُونَ
7:204 Hence, when the Qur'an is voiced, hearken unto it, and listen in silence, so that you might be graced with [God's] mercy."
Imam Naisabury 
narrates in his kitab [1] concerning the science of revelation of the abovementioned verses,
عن أبي هريرة في هذه الآية: {وَإِذَا قُرِىءَ ٱلْقُرْآنُ} قال:
نزلت في رفع الأصوات وهم خلف رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم، في الصلاة.
It was narrated from Abu Hurairah that the reason for the revelation of the verse is as follows; “This verse was revealed when they (Companions) were raising their voices while in prayer behind Rasulullah 
.”
وقال قتادة: كانوا يتكلمون في صلاتهم في أول ما فُرِضت، كان الرجل يجيء فيقول لصاحبه: كم صليتم؟ فيقول كذا وكذا. فأنزل الله تعالى هذه الآية.
Qatadah commented, “They (Companions) at that moment were speaking to one another whilst in their prayers during the early stages when prayers was first obligated. A man would come and say to his friend “How many cycles have you prayed?” And the friend would answer such and such. And Allah revealed this verse.
وقال الزُّهْرِي: نزلت في فتى من الأنصار كان رسول الله عليه السلام كلما قرأ شيئاً قرأ هو، فنزلت هذه الآية
Al-Zuhri said, “This verse was revealed referring to a man from the Ansar. When the Prophet was reciting (the verses from the Quran) he would join to recite as well. And this verse was revealed.”
وقال ابن عباس: إن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم قرأ في الصلاة المكتوبة، وقرأ أصحابه وراءه رافعين أصواتهم، فخلطوا عليه. فنزلت هذه الآية.
lbn al-‘Abbas said, “Once, the Prophet recited aloud during a prescribed prayer and so too the Companions with their voices raised, thereby creating a cacophony (his recitation mixing with theirs), hence this verse was revealed.”
وقال سعيد بن جبير ومجاهد وعطاء وعمرو بن دينار وجماعة: نزلت في الإنْصَات لإمام في الخطبة يوم الجمعة.
According to Sa’id bin Jubair , Mujahid , ‘Atha dan ‘Amr bin Dinar and other commentators (of the Qur’an), this verse was revealed as an order to listen to the Imam during the sermon of the Friday prayers.
Given the above explanation, we are now able to understand the meaning of verse 205 of Surah Al Araf, with its injunction that we remember God in our hearts in humility and fear, and that we do not raise our voices in our prescribed prayers so as not to disturb the congregation, more so the imam.
However, with regards to zikir with loud voice, scholars explained that it is permissible, although care should be taken to ensure that it does not harm one’s self.
Among the scholars who allowed Jahr (loud Zikir even in mosques is al-Imam Jalaluddin as-Sayuthi . He mentioned it in his kitab [2] as such:
A man asked him, “It has become a norm that the Sufis conduct majlis zikir and raise their voices in mosques and when reciting tahlil, is that makruh (disliked) or not?”
He (Imam Sayuthi ) answered, “Verily it is not disliked. There are a lot of hadith that encourage raising the voice in Zikir. There are also hadiths that recommend silence in Zikir and there are also hadiths that recommend a mixture of both. The differences are meant to cater to different people with different needs and under different circumstances.”
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[1] Al-Naisabury , Asbab al-Nuzul ‘Alam al-Kutub, Beirut, pg. 171-172
[2]As-Sayuthi , al-Hawi li al-Fatawa Vol 1 published by Dar al-Fikr pg.389-390
