Matha Taf'al - What to do in certain Situations
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Subject: fatwa
Title: Matha Taf'al - What to do in certain Situations
Created on: Mon Jan 14 12:24:36 -0500 2008
Updated on: Mon Jan 14 12:24:36 -0500 2008
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Abstract: ... If a man enters the masjid while the imaam is praying, should he join the imaam immediately in whatever position he is in and start praying, or should he wait to see whether the imaam is going to sit or stand? The correct answer is that which is indicated by the evidence (daleel): he should join the imaam no matter what part of the prayer he has reached – prostrating, standing, bowing or sitting. The evidence is the hadeeth of Abu Hurayrah (may Allaah be pleased with him): “The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: ‘If you come to the prayer and we are prostrating, then prostrate, but don’t count it, and whoever catches a rak’ah has caught the prayer.’” (Sunan Abi Dawood, 893; Saheeh Sunan Abu Dawood, 792). Mu’aadh said: “The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: ‘If one of you comes to prayer and the imaam is in a certain position, then do as the imaam is doing.’” (Sunan al-Tirmidhi, 591; see also Saheeh Sunan al-Tirmidhi, 484). Also, there is the general meaning of the hadeeth: “Whatever you catch up with, pray.” [ Table of Contents ] Not hastening unduly to join a prayer in progress If the prayer starts and a person is still on his way to the mosque, he should not hasten unduly; he should walk with calmness and dignity, as indicated in the hadeeth of Abu Hurayrah (may Allaah be pleased with him): “The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: ‘If the prayer starts, do not approach it running; approach it walking with calmness and dignity. Whatever you catch up with, pray, and whatever you miss, complete it [afterwards].’” (Reported by al-Bukhaari, Fath, 2/390). Breaking wind during a congregational prayer If a man breaks wind during a congregational prayer, what should he do in this embarrassing situation? He should put his hand over his nose, and go out. The evidence for this was reported by ‘Aa’ishah (may Allaah be pleased with her), who said: “The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: ‘If one of you passes wind whilst he is praying, he should hold his nose and leave.’” (Sunan Abi Dawood, 1114; see also Saheeh Sunan Abi Dawood, 985). Al-Teebi said: “The command to hold one’s nose is to make it appear as though one is bleeding. This is not lying; it is a form of action that is allowed so that Shaytaan will not convince a person in this situation not to leave because he feels too shy of others.” (Mirqaat al-Mafaateeh Sharh Mishkaat al-Masaabeeh, 3/18). This is an example of the kind of ambiguity that is allowed and approved of, in order to avoid embarrassment, as whoever sees him leaving in this manner will assume that he is suffering a nosebleed. Another benefit of this Prophetic advice is that it puts a stop to the insinuating whispers of the Shaytaan, which may otherwise cause him to stay in the row or continue praying with the congregation when he has passed wind, and this does not please Allaah. How can he stay when the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) has commanded him to leave? In this case he is permitted either to pass through the rows, or to walk to the edge of the mosque, in order to leave, so that he can go and make wudoo’, then come back and rejoin the prayer. [ Table of Contents ] When one has already prayed and comes to another mosque to find the people there prayingg If a person has already prayed in one mosque, then he comes to another mosque for a lesson or for some other reason, and finds the people there praying, then he should join them and his prayer would be considered a naafil (supererogatory or “extra”) prayer. He should do so even if it is during the prohibited times of prayer because there is a reason behind it. The evidence for this comes from the hadeeth of Yazeed ibn al-Aswad (may Allah be pleased with him): “I performed Hajj with the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and prayed Fajr with him in Masjid Al-Khayf. When he completed his prayer and turned around, he found two people at the back who did not pray with him. He said, ‘I have to talk to them.’ So he came to them, and they were trembling. He asked them: ‘What prevented you two from praying with us?’ They said: ‘O Messenger of Allah! We had already prayed in our places.’ He said: ‘Do not do that. If you have already prayed at your places and then came to a congregational mosque, pray with them too and it will become a supererogatory prayer for you.’” (Sunan Al-Tirmidhi, no. 219; Saheeh al-Jaami’, 667) In another hadeeth it is narrated that the two came after the Fajr prayer which is a time when prayer is prohibited. Imaam Maalik has reported in al-Muwatta’ in the chapter on “What has been narrated about repeating the prayer with the imaam after a person has prayed individually”: “Mihjan (radiAllahu ‘anhu), said that he was in the company of the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), when the call to prayer was given. The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) got up and prayed in congregation, then came back, while Mihjan stayed in his place and did not pray with them. So the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said to him: ‘What prevented you from praying with the people? Are you not a Muslim?’ He said: ‘Indeed I am, O Prophet of Allah! But I had already prayed at home.’ The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said to him: ‘When you come (to the mosque) then pray with the people even if you have already prayed.’” (al-Muwatta’, 1/130; Silsilah al-Saheehah, no. 1337) [ Table of Contents ] Still praying sunnah when the iqaamah is given If a person has entered the mosque and is praying sunnah, then the iqaamah is called, the best opinion in this case is that if he is in his second rak‘ah, he should finish it quickly, and if he is in the first rak‘ah, he should just break his prayer and enter the congregation with the imaam. (Fataawa Ibn ‘Uthaymeen, 1/345). The basis for this is the report which Imaam Muslim narrated in his Saheeh: “The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: ‘If iqaamah is called for the prayer then there is no prayer except the obligatory one.’” (Saheeh Muslim, 1/493) So, if a person has performed the rukoo’ of the second rak‘ah when the iqaamah is called, then he should complete his prayer. If the iqaamah is called before he does the rukoo’ of the second rak’ah, then he should discontinue because what is left of sujood and tashahhud is not needed any more. Moreover, he should break without salaam, and it is enough to have the intention in the heart, contrary to common misconception. [ Table of Contents ] Being informed of the correct direction of the qiblah whilst praying If there is a congregation praying, and during their prayer they are informed that the qiblah is in a direction other than that which they were facing, they should all turn towards the correct direction. The same is also true for someone praying individually. Whatever part of their prayer has been performed (before changing direction) will be correct. The evidence for this is a narration reported by Imaam Muslim from Anas (may Allah be pleased with him): “While the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was praying towards Bayt-al-Maqdis (Jerusalem), the aayah was revealed to him (interpretation of the meaning): ‘Verily! We have seen the turning of your face towards the heaven. Surely, We shall turn you to a qiblah that shall please you, so turn your face in the direction of al-Masjid al-Haram.’ [Al-Baqarah 2:144]. A man from Bani Salamah was passing by and found them (i.e., the people of Bani Salamah) in the state of rukoo‘ in the second rak‘ah of the Fajr prayer. He called out to them: ‘The qiblah has been changed,’ so they changed direction while they were still in rukoo’.” (Saheeh Muslim, No. 527) If some of the people were informed and the others were not, then the one to whom it was made clear should turn to the direction which he believes to be the correct direction of qiblah. Now if all of these people were originally praying together in the same direction, then some of them turned towards the right and some towards the left, it is still valid for one of them to lead the others in prayer. But the scholars have a difference of opinion about some people following others in cases of complete disagreement about the direction of the qiblah. If there is someone among them who is completely ignorant about the direction, he should follow the one who is more aware amongst them of the direction of the qiblah. (Al-Mughni ma’a al-Sharh al-Kabeer, 1/473). If someone does not know the direction of the qiblah, he must ask someone if he can, or else he should make ijtihaad (make a judgment to the best of his ability based on the information available) if he is able to, otherwise he must follow someone who is reliable. If he cannot find such a person, then he should fear Allah, do his best and pray, and his prayer is valid. This sometimes happens to people who travel to the lands of the disbelievers and find no Muslim or anybody else who could tell them the correct direction of the qiblah, and have no means of finding out. But if a person is capable of finding out the direction of the qiblah, but was neglectful and prayed without making all possible efforts, he should repeat his prayer because he was careless. (Al-Mughni ma’a al-Sharh al-Kabeer, 1/490). [ Table of Contents ] Falling behind when praying in congregationn If a person is praying in a congregation and the loudspeaker stops working or he becomes drowsy and he lags behind the imaam by one or more obligatory acts (arkaan) of prayer (i.e., the imaam performed it and he did not because of not hearing the imaam’s voice), then when he wakes up again or the sound of the speaker comes back, he should complete the obligatory acts that he has missed, then continue following the imaam. This problem may arise in many cases. For example: the imaam recites a verse that contains the word of prostration (sajdah) and some of the people misunderstand it to be a verse of prostration while in reality it is not, so when the imaam says takbeer for rukoo‘ at the end of the verse and performs rukoo‘, some of the followers (especially those towards the rear of the congregation) take it to be the takbeer for the prostration of recital, so they prostrate. When the imaam stands up from the rukoo‘ saying “sami‘a Allahu li man hamidah”, they stand up from their prostration, thus having missed the act of rukoo‘ and standing up from it. So it is incumbent on them to complete what they missed and then catch up with the imaam. This is because they did not do it intentionally. However, in the case of one who intentionally lags behind the imaam (e.g., someone who prolongs his prostration to make a long supplication such that he misses the obligatory act which comes after the prostration), the majority of scholars say that the prayer of someone who misses two consecutive obligatory acts of prayer without a valid excuse, is void and he is a sinner. (Kashshaaf al-Qinaa’, 1/467; al-Mawsoo’ah al-Fiqhiyyah, 6/29). However, the principle is that the imaam must be followed, as the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “The imaam is there to be followed, so do not differ from him. When he goes into rukoo‘, make rukoo‘. When he says “Sami’a Allahu li man hamidah” (Allah hears the one who praises Him), say “Rabbanaa laka’l-hamd” (O our Lord! To You belongs the Praise). When he goes into sajdah, make sajdah. If he prays sitting, then all should pray sitting.” (Saheeh al-Bukhaari, no. 689) [ Table of Contents ] When the imaam nullifies his wudoo’ If the Imaam nullifies his wudoo’ whilst he is praying, or remembers during the prayer that he did not perform ablution, then he should come out from prayer and appoint someone to finish leading the prayer, as was narrated from ‘Umar, ‘Ali, ‘Alqamah and ‘Ataa’. If he does not appoint anyone, and the people pray individually, this is also acceptable, and this is the opinion taken by Imaam Al-Shaafi‘i. If he brings someone forward to lead them, that is also permitted. The evidence for this is what has been narrated regarding ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) when he was stabbed: he took the hand of ‘Abd al-Rahmaan bin ‘Awf and made him step forward, and he led the prayer to completion. (Reported by al-Bukhaari, Fath, 7/60). The reason for this deduction is that ‘Umar did this in the presence of a number of Companions and others and no one opposed this act, so it became a consensus (ijmaa‘). (Ahkaam al-Imaamah, al-Muneef, p. 234). If the imaam remembers that he is not in a state of purity, he should indicate to the people to remain as they are and go and purify himself, then come back, say “Allaahu akbar” and lead them in prayer. This is valid. The evidence for this is the report narrated by Abu Dawood from Abu Bakrah: “The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) started to lead the fajr prayer, then he indicated to the people that they should stay in their places. Then he came back and water was dripping from his head.” (Sunan Abi Dawood, no. 233; Saheeh Sunan Abi Dawood, 1/45. Abu Dawood included a chapter entitled Fi’l-Junub yusalli bi’l-qawmi wa huwa naasin (One who inadvertently leads the people in prayer when in a state of janaabah)). Commenting on this hadeeth, Imaam Al-Khattaabi said: “In this hadeeth there is evidence that if one is leading the people in prayer while in a state of janaabah and the people do not know of it, then their prayer is unaffected and there is no need for them to repeat it. But the Imaam has to repeat his prayer.” (Sunan Abi Dawood wa ma’ahu Ma’aalim al-Sunan by al-Khattaabi, edited by al-Da’aas, 1/159.) [ Table of Contents ] When the imaam’s ‘awrah becomes uncovered If someone is praying in congregation behind the imaam and sees his ‘awrah (those parts of the body that must be covered) uncovered due to an opening in his clothes or due to his clothes being thin and transparent, then if it is possible he should go ahead and cover it with something, otherwise he should come out of his prayer and inform the imaam by saying “cover your ‘awrah” (in Arabic “ghatti’l-‘awrah”), or “protect what has been uncovered”. He should not stay quiet and continue to pray because it is known that the imaam’s prayer (in this condition) is incorrect and following him is incorrect as well. (From the oral fataawa of Shaykh ‘Abd al-‘Azeez ibn Baaz). [ Table of Contents ] Realizing that one’s wudoo’ is invalid because of wiping over socks when doing so is no longer acceptable If one is praying (either as an imaam or as a member of a congregation or individually) and recalls that he had wiped over his socks (khuff) during wudoo’ at the time when the period during which this is acceptable had expired, he should terminate his prayer because his ablution is incorrect. This is what has been quoted from Imaams Ahmad and al-Shaafi‘i. (al-Mughni, 2/505) When the imaam forgets the ending of an aayah If the Imaam recites a part of the Qur’an in the prayer and forgets the ending of the verse, and none of the members of the congregation remind him of it, he can choose either to say the takbeer and discontinue the recitation, or to recite one verse or more from another soorah. But this is allowed only if the forgotten part is not from al-Faatihah. As far as al-Faatihah is concerned, it must be recited in its entirety, as reciting it is an obligatory act of prayer. (Ibn Baaz: Fataawa Islaamiyyah, 396). [ Table of Contents ] Intending to pray for rain, then it rains before the people start the prayerr If the people go out to gather for salaat al-istisqaa’ (prayer for rain), or were intending to do so, and then it rained, then either of the following apply: If they had got ready to go out and it rained before they left, then they should thank Allah (subhanahu wa ta‘ala) for His blessings and not go out. If they had already come out, and it rained before they could pray, they should offer a prayer in gratitude to Allah, may He be exalted. (al-Mughni, 2/296) [ Table of Contents ] Feeling sleepy when listening to Friday sermonn If a person becomes sleepy or dozes while listening to the Friday sermon, it is recommended for him to change places with the person next to him. In doing this he should be careful not to speak; rather, he should communicate by gestures. The evidence for this is the hadeeth narrated by Samurah who said: “The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: ‘If one of you dozes during the Friday sermon, he should change places with the person sitting next to him.’” (Al-Bayhaqi, 3/238; Saheeh al-Jaami‘ no. 812) Another hadeeth was narrated by Ibn ‘Umar who said: “The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: ‘If one of you dozes in the mosque on Friday, he should move to another place to sit.’” (Abu Dawood, no. 1119; Saheeh al-Jaami‘ no. 809) [ Table of Contents ] 3. Rulings about Forgetfulness during Prayer (al-sahw) Doubt about number of rak’ahs prayed If a person is in doubt as to whether he prayed, for example, three or four rak’ahs, he should act according to what is most likely. However, if he cannot be sure which is more likely, he should assume what he can be certain of, which is the lesser amount, and make the prostrations of forgetfulness (sujood ul-sahw). The evidence is the hadeeth narrated by Abu Sa‘eed Al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him), who said: “The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: ‘If one of you has doubts during his prayer and he does not recall how many rak‘ahs he has prayed, whether three or four, then should forget about his doubt and complete his prayer on the basis of that of which he is certain, and then make two sujood before the salaam. If it turns out that he had prayed five rak‘ah, the two sujood would make it even, and if he ended up completing his four rak‘ahs , they would be in defiance of the Shaytaan.’” (Saheeh Muslim, no. 571) [ Table of Contents ] Imaam remembers that he forgot to recite al-Faatihah during a silent rak’ah If the imaam remembers in the final tashahhud (sitting of the prayer) that he had recited at-tahiyyaat (the greetings mentioned during the sitting) in the beginning of a silent rak‘ah instead of al-Faatihah, he should stand up and offer another, correct, rak‘ah, to make up for the one he performed incorrectly where he did not recite al-Faatihah. This is because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “There is no prayer for the one who did not recite (in it) al-Faatihah (the opening chapter of the Qur’an).” (Saheeh al-Bukhaari, no. 723) It is also required for the members of the congregation behind him to follow him, even though it would be the fifth rak‘ah for them. If they do not understand and do not stand up, but say “subhaan Allah” as if to indicate to the imaam that he is in error, the imaam should gesture with hand movements to the right and left to inform them that he did it purposefully and to indicate to them that they should stand up and that he knows what he is doing. However, if something like this happens to one of the people praying behind the imaam, his prayer will be correct as long as he followed the imaam. The evidence for this is the hadeeth of Abu Bakrah which describes when he joined the prayer in the position of rukoo‘ and did not recite al-Faatihah. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said to him: “May Allah increase your endeavor. You do not need to repeat.” (Saheeh al-Bukhaari, no. 750). [ Table of Contents ] A member of a congregation forgetting to recite al-Faatihah, or joining the prayer at the moment of rukoo’ If the person following the imaam forgets to recite al-Faatihah, or is ignorant of its obligatory nature, or joins the prayer when the imaam is in the state of rukoo‘, then his rak‘ah will be considered as complete and his prayer correct. He does not need to repeat the rak‘ah, as he is excused for his ignorance or forgetfulness, or for not joining the prayer in time for the qiyaam (the part of the rak’ah when one is standing upright). This is the opinion of the majority of scholars. (Ibn Baaz: Fataawa Islamiyyah, 1/263). This is one of the things which the imaam bears on behalf of those whom he leads in prayer. [ Table of Contents ] Raising one’s head from rukoo’ then realizing that one forgot to say the tasbeeh If a person raises his head from rukoo’ then remembers that he did not say the tasbeeh of rukoo’, he should not return to the rukoo’ because the requirement for supplication of rukoo’ is no longer applicable by virtue of his having raised his head. If he returns to the rukoo’ intentionally, this action would render his prayer invalid since he has added an extra rukn (obligatory act of the prayer) which is this second, superfluous, rukoo’. However, if it was due to ignorance or forgetfulness, his prayer will not be nullified, but in this case he must make the prostration of forgetfulness if he was praying individually or leading a congregation. This is because saying tasbeeh (“subhaana Rabbi al-‘Azeem, How Perfect is my Lord, the Supreme”) is waajib (obligatory), and if one forgets it, it can be compensated for by making the prostration of forgetfulness. If he was praying behind an imaam and forgets the tasbeeh, then he is no longer considered to have omitted an obligatory act. (al-Mughni ma’a al-Sharh al-Kabeer, 1/679). [ Table of Contents ] Forgetting the first tashahhud If a person forgets the first tashahhud, stands up for the third rak‘ah and starts the recitation of al-Faatihah, then according to the majority of scholars, he should not return to the sitting position. If he does so knowing that his return is unapproved of, his prayer will be nullified because he has already started another obligatory act. The obligatory act that he forgot (i.e., tashahhud) can be made up for by making the prostrations of forgetfulness. The evidence is the hadeeth narrated by al-Mugheerah ibn Shu‘bah: “The Prophet (peace and blessings of... [Full Article...]
