12- GROUP PRAYER AND THE IMAM
GROUP PRAYER ANDTHE IMAM
GROUP PRAYER
Group prayer is a communal obligation upon all male non travellers for the five current prescribed prayers, such that the rite of the prayer be public. (In a small town, it is enough to merely gather somewhere and pray. In a city, the prayer must be held in public places such that the manifestations of obedience to Allah’s command are evident. If held in houses where the rite of prayer is not public, the obligation remains unfulfilled (though a house with a sign on it is sufficient).)
Group prayer is sunna for women, travellers, and for makeup prayers in which the imam and followers are performing the same type of prayer; though it is not sunna for a follower’s makeup prayer to be performed behind an imam’s current prescribed prayer, or for a makeup prayer to be performed behind a different type of makeup (0: such as a follower making up the noon prayer (zuhr) behind an imam who is making up the mid-afternoon prayer (‘asr».
It is personally obligatory to perform the Friday prayer Gumu’a) in a group (for every male Muslim who is not travelling).
The group prayer for which the demand is the strongest is the dawn prayer (subh), then the nightfall prayer (,isha), and then the mid-afternoon prayer (‘asr).
The minimal number of people for a group prayer is an imam and a follower.
It is best for men to perform group prayer at the mosque (as the act of going to the mosque makes the group prayer evident). The best mosque in which to pray is the one with the most people. If there is a nearby mosque attended by few people, then it is better to go to a distant one attended by more, unless the imam there commits reprehensible innovations (bid’a), is immoral, does not consider one of the integrals of the prayer to be an integral Cn: though this does not matter if it is the result of the imam’s following a different school of jurisprudence, as below at (or if one’s going to the farther mosque will make group prayer impossible at the one nearby (A: as when one is one of the only two people who are likely to come), in all of which cases it is better to pray at the nearby mosque.
It is better for women to pray at home than at the mosque (whether they are young or old). It is offensive for an attractive or young woman to come to the mosque to pray (or for her husband to permit her), though not offensive for women who are not young or attractive when this is unlikely to cause temptation. (The author’s words here must be interpreted in the light of the following details: If a woman’s going to group prayer or elsewhere will definitely lead to temptation between the sexes, it is unlawful for her to go. lf such temptation can be definitely prevented, her going to attend group prayer remains sunna, as is attested to by the hadiths that have reached us on the subject. If temptation is feared but not certain to occur, her going becomes offensive.
Whether such temptation is likely to occur is something that differs with different times, places, and people. An old woman is not like a young one, nor a righteous society like one in which temptation between the sexes is the rule; nor is a special prayer place set aside for women at a mosque like a prayer place which they share with men. This is why ‘A’isha (Allah be well pleased with her) said,
“Had the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) seen what women do now, he would have forbidden them the mosque as the women of Bani lsra’il were forbidden,”
a hadith reported by Bukhari and Muslim.
The temptation between the sexes whose occurrence is to be feared when they intermingle is of various degrees, the least of which is a person’s appreciating and admiring the other, then being attracted to and enamoured with the other, and finally, those indecencies which are not hidden from anyone. Islam is eager to eliminate evil at its inception and extirpate temptation from its outset, and the word of Allah Most High,
“Tell believers to lower their eyes and to guard their private parts” (Quran 24:30),
explains both the starting point and final outcome of the temptation of men through women and the temptation of women through men.)
There is no demand to go to group prayer (whether communally obligatory personally obligatory, or Sunna), when there is a valid excuse not to, such as:
(1) Hardship due to rain or snow that soaks clothing;
(2) Hardship due to heavy mud (from getting soiled or slipping when walking through it);
(3) (Severe) winds at night (or dawn);
(4) Severe heat or cold (because of the hardship of moving in them, and likewise intense darkness at night, which is an excuse not to attend);
(5) Being in the presence of food or drink that one wants to have (as they obviate the awe and humility befitting the prayer. One should eat enough to take the edge off one’s hunger (and then go to join the group» ;
(6) Holding back from going to the toilet or breaking wind (as one should relieve oneself first, even if one fears missing the group prayer);
(7) Hazard to one’s person;
(8) Hazard to one’s property (from theft or seizure, whether it belongs to oneself or to another whose property one is obliged to protect. It also includes bread one has put in the oven that would burn if one were to leave and attend the prayer);
(9) Hardship from an ailment (even when one is able to attend, if it entails a hardship comparable to that of walking in the rain. If one is suffering from a slight indisposition such as a toothache or the like, it is not an excuse);
(10) Taking care of a sick person (who would suffer harm if one left to pray, whether a relative, friend, or total stranger) or taking care of someone ill who is strongly attached to one’s staying with him;
(11) The death of a relative, friend, (or spouse);
(12) Fear of missing the impending departure of the party one intends to travel with;
(13) Having eaten something with a bad odour (such as raw onions or garlic, though not if cooked, as this eliminates the smell);
(14) or fear of meeting someone who will try to collect a debt one owes him and one is unable to pay.
(The demand for group prayer is not eliminated by other than the above excuses.)
It is a condition of a valid group prayer that the follower intend to follow the imam (whether at the opening Allahu Akbar or thereafter). If the follower neglects to do so, his prayer is as if he had performed it alone. It invalidates one’s prayer to purposely omit the intention to follow the imam while at the same time praying behind him and following his motions by awaiting them at length, though awaiting them shortly or performing one’s own prayer simultaneously with his does not invalidate it.
It invalidates one’s prayer to take a follower as one’s imam when the follower is concurrently praying behind an imam (though if his imam finishes with Salams and the follower is still praying, he may then be taken as one’s imam).
The imam intends leading the prayer as imam. If he neglects this intention then his own prayer counts as if he had prayed alone (though in his followers’ prayer counts as a group prayer), the imam having lost the reward for praying in a group.
In the Friday prayer (jumu’a), it is a necessary condition for the prayer’s validity that the imam intend leading as imam.
When going to a group prayer, it is recommended to walk with tranquillity. (It is Sunna not to gambol about, speak of disapproved things, or engage in acts which are offensive in the prayer itself, such as looking right or left.)
It is recommended to diligently seek the spiritual merit of being at the group prayer’s opening Allahu Akbar, meaning that one says it just after the imam does.
If one has begun a non-obligatory prayer when the call to commence (iqama) is given, one should finish it before joining the group, as long as one does not fear the group will finish before one can join them. If afraid they will, then one interrupts the non-obligatory prayer to join them.
If one has begun praying a prescribed prayer alone and the call to commence (iqama) is given for a group prayer, it is recommended to tum one’s prayer into a supererogatory prayer of two rak’as, and pray the prescribed prayer with the group. Were one to merely change one’s intention to that of following their imam, it would count as a valid group prayer for one, but it is offensive. In such a case if one reaches the end of one’s prayer before the group, one may either wait for them to finish with one while sitting in the final Testification of Faith (Tashahhud), or else finish with Salams as soon as one reaches the end of one’s prayer. (One may not follow the imam in what is in excess of one’s own prayer.)
It is permissible to start praying with a group, and then cease one’s participation in praying with them (by a silent intention) and finish one’s prayer alone, though this is offensive when there is no excuse. (It is not offensive to do so when there is an excuse, such as being ill, or unable to endure the imam’s lengthy Quran recital because of weakness or having business to attend to (or: a pressing emergency). )
When one arrives late to a group prayer in which the imam is already bowing, it is obligatory for one to say the opening Allahu Akbar while standing upright, after which one says a second Allahu Akbar before one bows to join the group (though if one only says it once, intending the opening Allahu Akbar thereby, then omitting the second Allahu Akbar of bowing does no harm, as it is sunna). If any part of one’s opening Allahu Akbar occurs when one is not standing upright, one’s prayer is invalid.
A latecomer is considered to have performed the rak’a if he manages to say “Allahu akbar,” bow, and remain motionless a moment therein before the imam straightens up beyond the definition a limit of bowing. If one is uncertain as to whether the imam straightened up past the limits of bowing before one reached that position, or whether it was after. Then one has not performed the rak’a (as one assumes, when uncertain, that one had not yet reached it). Nor does the rak’a count for such a follower when it does not count for the imam, such as when the imam nullifies his ablution (wudu), or has overlooked something impure on his person, or has mistakenly added a fifth rak’a to his prayer.
If one does not join the group until the imam has straightened up from bowing, or thereafter, then one follows his motions, saying “Allah akbar” with him and repeating “Subhan Allah” and the Testification of Faith (Tashahhud) when he does, even when this does not correspond to the rak’a in which one’s own Testification of Faith would be if one were praying alone.
If one joins the group just as the imam is prostrating or sitting in the final Testification of Faith, then one prostrates or sits with him (N: after having recited one’s opening Allahu Akbar while standing) without (a second) Allahu Akbar (though One does say “Subhan Allah” in prostration and recite the Testification of Faith with the imam, in deference to his leadership).
If the final Testification of Faith of the imam coincides with one’s own first Testification, then when the imam finishes with Salams, one stands up with an Allahu Akbar to finish one’s prayer; though if the imam’s final Testification does not coincide with one’s first Testification, one rises to finish without an Allahu Akbar.
Whenever one joins the group before the imam finishes with Salams, one has attained the merit of the group prayer. (But it is less than the merit of praying with the group from the beginning or joining them in the middle, though joining them at the end is better than praying alone.)
The rak’as one performs before the imam finishes with Salams are the first rak’as of one’s prayer, and those performed after the imam finishes are the last. Hence, if the imam performs the dawn prayer’s supplication in the rak’a in which one joins the group, one repeats it in one’s own second rak’a.
It is obligatory for one to follow the imam’s leadership in prayer actions, such that each of one’s movements begins after the imam begins it and before he finishes (the following integral). (It is highly desirable that) one follows the imam’s spoken integrals in the same way, with the sole exception of saying” Ameen,” which should be simultaneous with his.
It invalidates one’s prayer to say one’s opening Allahu Akbar simultaneously with the imam, or to be uncertain as to whether one did so or not. It is offensive to perform some other part of the prayer simultaneously with the imam, and one thereby loses the merit of group prayer.
GETIING AHEAD OF THE IMAM
It is offensive to proceed to an integral ahead of the imam, as when one bows before he does, and one is recommended to return to following him.
(An “integral” in rulings concerning the person who gets ahead of the imam or lags behind him refers to integrals that are physical actions, such as standing, bowing, straightening up, prostrating, or sitting up between prostrations. It does not refer to spoken integrals such as reciting the Fatiha, or to remaining motionless for a moment in the various positions.)
It is unlawful, though if does not invalidate the prayer, to completely finish an integral before the imam comes to it, as when one bows, straightens up, and then waits for him to straighten up.
It invalidates one’s prayer to completely finish two integrals before the imam does, if one does so intentionally (and knowing it is unlawful).
If one does so absentmindedly (or in ignorance of its prohibition), it does not invalidate the prayer, but the rak’a does not count (and one must add an additional rak’a after the imam finishes with Salams).
LAGGING BEHIND THE IMAM
If there is no excuse (def: below), it is offensive to lag behind the imam until he completely finishes an integral ahead of one, and it invalidates one’s prayer to lag behind the imam until he finishes two integrals. If the imam bows and straightens up while (without excuse) one has not yet bowed, it does not invalidate one’s prayer until the imam actually begins going down towards prostration and one still has not bowed (0: since lagging’means that the imam has finished two integrals before the follower has reached the first of them). This invalidates one’s prayer even before the imam reaches prostration, as he has completed two integrals.
When one lags behind the imam for a valid reason, such as one’s slow recital (the imam whether natural inability or being a non-Arabic speaker), not merely to unfounded misgivings (waswasa), and the imam bows, then it is obligatory for one to finish the Fatiha (one is not entitled in such a case to simply omit the rest of the Fatiha and bow with the imam, as a latecomer is entitled to do (third paL», after which one rapidly performs the elements of the prayer to catch up with the imam, provided the imam is not more than three (long) integrals ahead of one. (Long excludes the integrals of straightening up after bowing and sitting between prostrations, which are short. Rather, the imam;s being three integrals ahead of one means he has bowed, prostrated once, and begun the second prostration, while the follower still has not bowed.)
If one is further behind than that (0: as when he has started to stand up while one is still standing for recital), then one follows from where one is (the number of rak’as one has done) and performs the ones missed after the imam finishes with Salams.
When the imam is bowing or in the final Testification of Faith (Tashahhud), and becomes aware of someone coming to join the group prayer, it is recommended that he wait for the latecomer (so the rak’a counts for him if they are bowing, or so the group prayer counts for him if they are in the final Testification of Faith), provided:
(a) That the person has entered the mosque or place of prayer;
(b) That the wait is not excessively long;
(c) And that the imam’s intention is obedience to Allah, not to give distinction or honour to the latecomer, such as by waiting for the noble but not the lowly.
Waiting for a latecomer is offensive in other than bowing and the final Testification of Faith.
When a mosque has an imam assigned to it (by the person in charge of the mosque, or as a condition of an endowment (waqf), and the mosque is not in a busy location, it is offensive for another to commence the group prayer without the imam’s permission (because the imamate is his, no one else’s, and because of the alienation and hurt feelings it involves). It is not offensive for another to do so in a mosque at a busy location or one to which no imam has been assigned.
When one has already performed one’s prescribed prayer alone or in a group, and finds another group prayer being performed, it is recommended to repeat one’s prayer with them, intending the obligatory prayer. (The first fulfils one’s obligation of the prescribed prayer, but one intends repeating, e.g., the noon prayer (zuhr).) Its reward is that of a supererogatory prayer.
The imam is recommended to keep his recital of the sura brief (not necessarily the absolute minimum, but not the maximum desirable for someone praying alone).
When leading a group composed solely of those who do not mind lengthy prayers, he is recommended to lengthen the recital.
(The imam should not prolong the recital when he does not know how everyone feels, and of those present some generally prefer lengthy rak’as and some do not, or when praying in a mosque at a busy location where people often join the prayer after the imam has begun.)
When the imam stops reciting the Quran because of uncertainty, it is recommended for the follower to remind him of what comes next. (When he does not stop but merely hesitates, the follower does not remind him, so as not to fluster him.) If the imam forgets an invocation (dhikr), the follower says it so the imam can hear. If he forgets an action, the follower should remind him of it by saying “Subhan Allah” (with the intention of invocation, If the imam remembers having missed the action, he performs it. But if he does not remember having missed it, it is not permissible for him to perform it just because the followers or others are reminding him, even if they are numerous. (The more reliable opinion is that if their number reaches four or more, he must act upon it.)
If the imam omits an obligatory element of the prayer (and does not return to it and perform it), then it is obligatory for the follower to cease his participation in the group prayer.
If the imam omits a Sunna that the follower cannot add without considerably Jagging behind, such as the first Testification of Faith (Tashahhud), then it is unlawful for the follower to perform the missing sunna (rather, he must follow the imam). If he performs it anyway (intentionally and knowing it is unlawful), it invalidates his prayer, though he is entitled to cease his participation in the group prayer to perform the Sunna in the course of finishing his own prayer alone. If the Sunna omitted by the imam can be done without much of a lag, such is sitting briefly before rising for a new rak’a, then the follower may add it without ceasing his participation in the group. (This also applies to when the imam omits the dawn prayer’s supplication, which the follower may perform it he can catch up with the imam before the imam lifts his head from the second prostration, though if the imam lifts his head before the follower has prostrated even once and the follower has not intended to cease his participation in the group prayer, then the follower’s prayer is invalid.)
Whenever the imam ceases his prayer because of his ablution (wudu) being nullified, or another reason, he may choose a successor to finish leading the prayer, provided the successor is eligible to lead the group. If the group performs a whole integral after the imam has stopped leading, then he may no longer choose a successor.
Any follower may be picked as the successor (even if he came late to the group prayer). If a latecomer, he leads the group beginning at the same point in the prayer where the imam left off. When he finishes leading them in their prayer, he stands (to finish his own), and indicates to them to cease following his leadership, or better yet, indicates for them to remain waiting for him (in their final Testification of Faith (Tashahhud)) until he comes to it after finishing his own rak’as. If he does not know which rak’a the imam was in, then he should observe (by looking left or right to see if the followers are sitting or) whether they are ready to rise. If they are, he rises, and if not, then he sits in a Testification of Faith.
It is permissible for the successor to be someone who has not been praying with the group, provided he is picked in the first or third rak’a (if the prayer has four tak’as), though he may not be picked in the second or fourth rak’a (because the order of the person’s prayer will not correspond to theirs, for such a person is not committed to the imam’s order).
The followers need not intend to follow the successor. They may each simply break off and finish alone. If the imam chooses someone but they put forward someone else, their choice take! Precedence.
THE IMAMATE
The one with the best right to be imam (in order of preference, when there is a disagreement) is:
(1) the most learned in Sacred Law (i.e. the rulings concerned with prayer) (0: even if he has not memorized any of the Koran except the Fatiha, since the need in prayer for knowledge of its rules is practically unlimited, while the only Quran recital required is the Fatiha);
(2) He who has memorized the most Koran;
(3) The most god fearing (because leading the prayer is an embassage between the servant and Allah Most High, and best befits him most honoured by Allah);
(4) He who has been a Muslim longest;
(5) The noblest in lineage;
(6) He with the best life history or reputation;
(7) The cleanest in person and clothes;
(8) He with the best voice;
(9) and the most handsome.
When only one of the above is present, he is chosen. If all people present or some of them possess one or more of these characteristics, then someone from the first of the list takes priority over those listed after him. If two are equal and each insists on being the imam, they draw lots.
(It is permissible for a less qualified person to lead, even when a better qualified one is present.)
The imam assigned to a mosque or a person living in the house where the prayer takes place, even if only renting, takes precedence over everyone on the list, from the most learned on down, though he may select anyone else he wishes to lead the prayer. The sultan and those under him, of Islamic judges, regional governors, and so on, take precedence over even the imam of the mosque, the householder, and others.
The following take precedence even when the latter is more learned in Sacred Law:
(1) A non-traveller over a traveller;
(2) An upright person over a corrupt one;
(3) and an adult over a child.
A sighted and a blind person are equally eligible to lead the prayer.
It is offensive for someone to lead a group at prayer when most of the group dislike him for a reason recognized by Sacred Law (such as wrong doing, not taking precautions against filth (najasa), having a blameworthy income, keeping the company of oppressors or the immoral, and so forth. If a minority dislike him, itis not offensive, for nobody lacks someone who dislikes him).
It is not permissible (0: or valid) to follow an imam who is non-Muslim, insane, in a state of ritual impurity, or who has filth (najasa) on his clothing or person, or is a woman leading men, or someone who omits or mispronounces a letter of the Fatiha leading someone who knows it, or a mute, or someone who slurs the words so the letters are indistinct from one another, or someone with a lisp.
If after the prayer one finds out that the imam was one of the above, then one must make up the prayer, unless the imam had filth Upon him that was concealed, or he was in a state of ritual impurity (in which cases one need not make it up).
The group prayer is valid:
(1) When the imam is performing a supererogatory prayer and the follower is performing a prescribed prayer, or vice versa;
(2) When the imam is performing the noon prayer (zuhr) and the follower is praying the dawn prayer (subh) (i.e. when the type of prayer differs), or vice versa;
(3) When the imam is praying while sitting and the follower is praying standing, or vice versa;
(4) And when the imam is performing a makeup prayer and the follower is performing a current one, or vice versa.
(But a person shortening his prayer because of travelling may not pray behind an imam who is performing the full number)
It is valid for a Shafi’i to follow the leadership of an imam who follows a different school of jurisprudence whenever the follower is not certain that the imam has omitted an obligatory element of the prayer, though if certain the imam has omitted one, it is not valid to follow him. The validity is based solely on the belief of the follower as to whether or not something obligatory has been omitted.
(One should mention the position of the Malikis and Hanbalis here, which is that the criterion for the validity of following the imam is the imam’s school of jurisprudence, such that if his prayer is valid in his own school, it is permissible to follow him as imam. How close this is to the spirit of the Law, which strives for Muslim unity.)
It is offensive to take an immoral person (as imam (because he might not be concerned about the things that are obligatory in the prayer), or someone who stutters over the letter f or the letter t, or who makes inconsequential mistakes in the Arabic vowel ling (that do not change the meaning).
RULES AND CONDITIONS OF FOLLOWING
When there are two or more male followers, it is Sunna for them to stand behind the imam, A single male follower stands on the imam’s right, and if a second follower arrives, the newcomer stands to the imam’s left and says his opening Allahu Akbar, after which the two followers move back (little by little). If they cannot move back (for lack of room) then the imam moves forward.
When there are men, boys, and women present, the men form the front row or rows, then the boys, and then the women. (This is also the rule for husband and wife: the wife prays in a separate row behind the husband.)
(If the men’s back row is incomplete, it should be completed with boys (and a latecomer may not remove the boys to make a place for himself unless they are directly behind the imam). Those who form a new row behind a row that is incomplete do not attain the merit of group prayer.)
A woman leading women in prayer stands in the middle of their first row.
It is offensive for the imam’s place to be higher or lower than the followers’ unless the imam wishes to teach the followers the actions of prayer. If the imam and follower are not in a mosque, it is obligatory that part of the imam’s body be level with part of the follower’s when both are of average height.
A latecomer to a group prayer who does not find a place in the last row should stand behind it, begin his prayer with the opening Allahu Akbar, and then indicate to someone in the row to stand with him, by drawing him back; and it is recommended that the person selected cooperate by stepping back (this is only if the latecomer does not expect anyone else to come).
The follower’s prayer is invalid if his heel is farther forward than the imam’s. (He should be farther back than the imam’s heel, even if only a little, but not more than 1.44 meters, for otherwise the merit of group prayer is lost (i.e. unrewarded, though not legally invalid).)
Whenever an imam leads a follower in a mosque, the group prayer is valid no matter if they are at a distance from each other, and no matter whether they are in the same chamber or not, as when one of them is on the roof (even if the door is closed) and the other is in the mosque’s well, provided that (0: both places open onto the mosque, and that) the follower can know when the imam is performing the motions of the prayer, whether by seeing the imam, or hearing his backup man (muballigh, the person who repeats the imam’s Allahu Akbars and Salams in a loud voice so people can hear).
Multiple interconnected mosques opening onto each other are considered as one mosque (0: and so are the mosque’s outer courtyards, even when there is a walkway between the courtyard and mosque).
MAXIMAL DISTANCES BETWEEN THE IMAM AND FOLLOWERS
When the imam and follower are not in a mosque, but are in an open expanse such as a desert or large house, their group prayer is valid as long as the distance between them does not exceed approximately 144 meters. If farther apart than this, their group prayer is not valid. If there are rows of people behind the imam, this distance is the maximum that is valid between each row and the one in front of it, even if there are miles between the imam and the last-row, or a fire, river that would have to be swum to reach him, or busy street between them.
If the imam is in one building and the follower in another, such as two houses, or if there is a house, inn, or school where the imam is in a courtyard and the follower is under a covered porch, or vice versa, then the maximum allowable distance is the same as for outdoors (def: above), provided that there is nothing between the imam and follower that obstructs passage to the imam, such as a latticework window (and provided that there is nothing that prevents the follower from seeing him, such as a closed door).
The group prayer is valid when the imam is in a mosque and the follower is in an adjoining space, provided that there is 144 meters or less between the follower and the edge of the mosque, and that between the follower and the mosque there is not a barrier lacking a breach in it, breach meaning, for example, when the follower is standing before a wall’s open gate. If such a person’s group prayer with the imam is thus valid, then the prayer of those behind him or in the row with him is also valid, even when (these others are numerous, and) the group extends beyond the area fronting the gate. Such a person’s group prayer is not valid if he turns from the gate, or if the wall of the mosque, a window, or a closed door (locked or not) lies between him and the imam.
(Source: The reliance of the traveller, revised edition, Edited and Translated by Nuh Ha Mim Keller)
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