Do we accommodate the conditions of the elderly when they wish for us to prolong the takbir of the tashahhud?
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The questioner : This questioner... says, "Do we accommodate the conditions of the elderly when they wish for us to prolong the takbir of the tashahhud?"
The Shaykh : This questioner is referring to what many imams do, where they assign a specific characteristic to each takbir among the actions of the prayer. For example, they prolong the takbir when they sit for the tashahhud but do not prolong it when they sit between the two prostrations, and they prolong the takbir when they stand up from the first tashahhud but do not prolong it when they stand up from prostration to standing, and so on.
I made every effort to find a basis for this in the Sunnah, and whether the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did so, but I did not find it. I sought the help of some of my brothers who have extensive knowledge of hadith, and they did not find it either. Therefore, the takbir remains in its natural state in all transitions, following a single pattern. If it were to change, the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) would have explained it, just as they explained his saying after the witr:Sunan an-Nasa'i 1740Sahih (Darussalam), they said: , so they distinguished when the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) distinguished.
Furthermore, there is a benefit in not distinguishing, which is for the ma'mum to strengthen his resolve and know in which rak'ah he is, because he fears he might be in the place of sitting or the opposite. If the imam distinguishes, the ma'mum becomes like a machine that follows; whenever the takbir is prolonged, he sits or stands, and whenever it is shortened, he sits.
Nothing poses a problem with this at all, except for the masbuq. The masbuq might find it confusing, because the imam will say a single takbir that does not change. So if the imam sits for the first tashahhud and the ma'mum has joined him in the second rak'ah, it becomes confusing for the ma'mum.
But the answer to this is that we say: if the ma'mum has someone next to him who is not a masbuq, let him follow him, as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:Sunan Ibn Majah 978Sahih (Darussalam). Therefore, I see that this imam should remain as he is, without distinguishing between the takbirs, because it is closer to the Sunnah, and the elderly will become accustomed to this way afterwards.
The Shaykh : This questioner is referring to what many imams do, where they assign a specific characteristic to each takbir among the actions of the prayer. For example, they prolong the takbir when they sit for the tashahhud but do not prolong it when they sit between the two prostrations, and they prolong the takbir when they stand up from the first tashahhud but do not prolong it when they stand up from prostration to standing, and so on.
I made every effort to find a basis for this in the Sunnah, and whether the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did so, but I did not find it. I sought the help of some of my brothers who have extensive knowledge of hadith, and they did not find it either. Therefore, the takbir remains in its natural state in all transitions, following a single pattern. If it were to change, the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) would have explained it, just as they explained his saying after the witr:
Subhanal-Malikil-Quddus (Glory be to the Sovereign, the Most Holy) three times.
سبحان الملك القدوس ثلاثاًAnd he prolongs his voice in the third
ويمد صوته في الثالثةFurthermore, there is a benefit in not distinguishing, which is for the ma'mum to strengthen his resolve and know in which rak'ah he is, because he fears he might be in the place of sitting or the opposite. If the imam distinguishes, the ma'mum becomes like a machine that follows; whenever the takbir is prolonged, he sits or stands, and whenever it is shortened, he sits.
Nothing poses a problem with this at all, except for the masbuq. The masbuq might find it confusing, because the imam will say a single takbir that does not change. So if the imam sits for the first tashahhud and the ma'mum has joined him in the second rak'ah, it becomes confusing for the ma'mum.
But the answer to this is that we say: if the ma'mum has someone next to him who is not a masbuq, let him follow him, as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: