Inspecting the Dawn Prayer and the Role of the Imam and Security Authorities
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Question:
This questioner asks about the circular issued by Your Eminence regarding the monitoring of the Fajr prayer, and he asks about the role of the committees. He also asks: if some of the sinners refuse to pray, the imam may suffer harm; what is the role of the imam and the role of the security authorities?
Answer:
It is obligatory for the imam and the congregation to cooperate and advise one another, as brothers in the mosque community, so that they perform the prayer in congregation at all times. This may be done through observation without formal inspection; if they see that one of them is late, they should advise him, visit him, and guide him so that he maintains the prayer. The inspection intended here is for the sake of cooperation in righteousness and piety and mutual advice. It is reported in a hadith that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to say on some days, “Watch over so-and-so, watch over so-and-so, watch over so-and-so.” The purpose here is cooperation in righteousness and piety and mutual advice. Thus, inspection means helping everyone to perform the prayer in congregation, especially the Fajr prayer, as it is often neglected due to the laxity and laziness of some people. If the congregation is limited and the imam knows them and watches them, their observation and alerting those who are late is sufficient. If they are not limited, they should inspect them and watch over so-and-so for so-and-so. If someone is late, they should advise him and guide him to good. If he does not understand despite the advice, they should refer his case to the Commission. The Commission will see to his discipline by what it deems appropriate, such as imprisonment or lashes, until he becomes regular in maintaining the prayer, just as Uthman said, “Allah legislates through authority what He does not legis through obedience.” Neglecting the congregational prayer is among the characteristics of the hypocrites. Therefore, it is obligatory for the Muslim to cooperate in preventing this negligence and to be eager to abandon it, and for Muslims to be diligent in maintaining the prayer in congregation at all times.
The presenter:
Yes.
This questioner asks about the circular issued by Your Eminence regarding the monitoring of the Fajr prayer, and he asks about the role of the committees. He also asks: if some of the sinners refuse to pray, the imam may suffer harm; what is the role of the imam and the role of the security authorities?
Answer:
It is obligatory for the imam and the congregation to cooperate and advise one another, as brothers in the mosque community, so that they perform the prayer in congregation at all times. This may be done through observation without formal inspection; if they see that one of them is late, they should advise him, visit him, and guide him so that he maintains the prayer. The inspection intended here is for the sake of cooperation in righteousness and piety and mutual advice. It is reported in a hadith that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to say on some days, “Watch over so-and-so, watch over so-and-so, watch over so-and-so.” The purpose here is cooperation in righteousness and piety and mutual advice. Thus, inspection means helping everyone to perform the prayer in congregation, especially the Fajr prayer, as it is often neglected due to the laxity and laziness of some people. If the congregation is limited and the imam knows them and watches them, their observation and alerting those who are late is sufficient. If they are not limited, they should inspect them and watch over so-and-so for so-and-so. If someone is late, they should advise him and guide him to good. If he does not understand despite the advice, they should refer his case to the Commission. The Commission will see to his discipline by what it deems appropriate, such as imprisonment or lashes, until he becomes regular in maintaining the prayer, just as Uthman said, “Allah legislates through authority what He does not legis through obedience.” Neglecting the congregational prayer is among the characteristics of the hypocrites. Therefore, it is obligatory for the Muslim to cooperate in preventing this negligence and to be eager to abandon it, and for Muslims to be diligent in maintaining the prayer in congregation at all times.
The presenter:
Yes.
Source
لقاءات لابن باز - لقاء مفتوح مع الشيخ ابن باز — archive.org (38:03)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.