An imam who made a mistake by adding a prostration and was not alerted to it until after the prayer ended, so he prostrated for forgetfulness; what is the ruling?
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Fatwa number ( 20709 )
Q: We have an imam in the Two Mosques ofBalasimrwhose name isAbdullah ibn Abdulaziz ibn Khunaynfrom the circles of the ShaykhMuhammad ibn Ibrahimand Abd al-Latif(may Allah have mercy on them both), and he was the first imam and muezzin in theBalasamirarea since the year 1367, and he is a person of sound creed, if Allah wills, and hehe made a mistake by adding an extra prostration, and he was not alerted to it until after the prayer had endedso he performed the prostration for forgetfulness, but one of the attendees established another congregation, and some of the congregation who had prayed with the imam split off with him and prayed with him in another congregation. The imam was distressed by this, and we tried to reconcile them, but the one who led another congregation in the mosque insisted on having a fatwa from your Eminence; therefore, we wanted to present their problem to your Eminence, knowing that in the answer ofAli ibn Nasserwho established another congregation, there is ambiguity. He says: A late-arriving congregation prayed, so a discussion took place between him and the imam. The imam answered that they were part of the congregation who prayed with me; they stood with him and he prayed with them as a congregation. The one who established the other congregation answered that he knew two of the congregation who had previously prayed with the imam had prayed with him, and he did not know the others. The imam insists that they were all part of the congregation. There is confusion in this, and we request your kindness in guiding them to the truth. This is a phenomenon that causes the followers to doubt their imam and has negative effects. We request a fatwa, and may Allah preserve you.
A: What this imam did by performing the prostration for forgetfulness is correct;
because he did not intend the addition but did it out of forgetfulness, so his prayer and the prayer of those who followed him without knowing about the addition are valid, based on the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him):, narrated by Muslim . As for those who followed him knowing about the addition and knowing that it is not permissible for them to follow him in this case, their prayer is invalid because they intended the addition. And success is from Allah, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and his companions.
Q: We have an imam in the Two Mosques ofBalasimrwhose name isAbdullah ibn Abdulaziz ibn Khunaynfrom the circles of the ShaykhMuhammad ibn Ibrahimand Abd al-Latif(may Allah have mercy on them both), and he was the first imam and muezzin in theBalasamirarea since the year 1367, and he is a person of sound creed, if Allah wills, and hehe made a mistake by adding an extra prostration, and he was not alerted to it until after the prayer had endedso he performed the prostration for forgetfulness, but one of the attendees established another congregation, and some of the congregation who had prayed with the imam split off with him and prayed with him in another congregation. The imam was distressed by this, and we tried to reconcile them, but the one who led another congregation in the mosque insisted on having a fatwa from your Eminence; therefore, we wanted to present their problem to your Eminence, knowing that in the answer ofAli ibn Nasserwho established another congregation, there is ambiguity. He says: A late-arriving congregation prayed, so a discussion took place between him and the imam. The imam answered that they were part of the congregation who prayed with me; they stood with him and he prayed with them as a congregation. The one who established the other congregation answered that he knew two of the congregation who had previously prayed with the imam had prayed with him, and he did not know the others. The imam insists that they were all part of the congregation. There is confusion in this, and we request your kindness in guiding them to the truth. This is a phenomenon that causes the followers to doubt their imam and has negative effects. We request a fatwa, and may Allah preserve you.
A: What this imam did by performing the prostration for forgetfulness is correct;
because he did not intend the addition but did it out of forgetfulness, so his prayer and the prayer of those who followed him without knowing about the addition are valid, based on the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him):
If a man adds or omits in his prayer, let him prostrate two prostrations
فإذا زاد الرجل أو نقص في صلاته فليسجد سجدتين
Source
www.alifta.gov.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.