People who pray differently from others, such as those who pray at the appointed time individually
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The questioner : There are people who pray differently from others; some pray at the appointed time individually, while others combine the midday and afternoon prayers, and the sunset and night prayers. What is the ruling on this? May Allah bless you.
The Shaykh : Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and I send prayers and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his Companions. Allah Mighty and Majestic said:[Al-Mu'minun 23:52] And He Exalted and Majestic said to His Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him): [Al-An'am 6:159] The religion of Islam came only to unify the community and gather its word upon the Shari'ah of Allah, which Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) brought, and his Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) followed him in this, from the Rightly Guided Caliphs Abu Bakr, 'Umar, 'Uthman, and 'Ali, then the rest of the Companions, then those who followed them with excellence, the Imams of guidance and the lamps of the darkness. This is the Islamic religion that Allah commanded, and that the community should be one upon this methodology that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), his Rightly Guided Caliphs, the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them), and the Imams of guidance after them, such as Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal, al-Shafi'i, Malik, Abu Hanifa, Sufyan, and others known for guidance, righteousness, and the desire for reform, followed.
Among the most important things that obligate gathering upon the religion of Allah is establishing the congregational prayer in the mosques, for it is among the manifest rituals that carry many benefits. The Book and the Sunnah indicate that the congregational prayer is obligatory, and that it is not permissible for anyone to be absent from it and pray individually. You will find this in the Qur'an, where Allah the Exalted said:[An-Nisa 4:102] So Allah the Exalted and Sublime obligated the congregational prayer even in the face of enemies. If Allah the Exalted obligated it in this state, then its obligation in a state of safety and ease is even more so. And He the Exalted said: [Al-Baqarah 2:43].
As for the Sunnah, the evidence for the obligation of the congregational prayer in it is abundant. It is authentic from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) from the hadith of Abu Hurayrah that he said:Sunan Ibn Majah 791Sahih (Darussalam) Or he said: Mishkat al-Masabih 1053, and a blind man who had no guide to lead him to the mosque asked his permission to pray alone, so he gave him permission. When the man turned away, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) called him and said to him: He said: Yes. He said: , and Ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "I have seen us, meaning the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them), and none would be absent from it except a known hypocrite whose hypocrisy is known, and indeed a man would be brought, supported between two men, until he was placed in the row".
So those who do not attend the congregation of the Muslims and pray individually have contradicted what the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) indicated, and what the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) were upon, which is praying in congregation with the Muslims. As for the statementThe questioner : that some people combine the prayers, if the combining has a cause that permits it, then it is permissible, and the Sunnah has indicated its permissibility, such as the hadith of Ibn 'Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both): They said: What did he intend by that? He said: "He intended not to burden his community". So if there is hardship for the Muslims in leaving off the combining, it is permissible for them to combine, just as if they were in a rainy night where it is difficult for them to go out in the rain, they would combine the sunset and night prayers, or the midday and afternoon prayers, if the rain or their going out in the rain is difficult for them, they would combine the midday and afternoon prayers, or the sunset and night prayers, in order to remove the hardship from them, and there is nothing wrong with this. Likewise, if they are travelers.
And if there is no excuse, then combining becomes forbidden, and the prayer performed outside its time is not valid. So if one combines the afternoon prayer with the midday prayer, for example, the afternoon prayer is not valid because he prayed it before its time entered, and he must repeat it in its time. And if he delays the midday prayer until the afternoon time, that delay is also forbidden for him, and his prayer is not accepted at that time because he delayed it without a legal cause.
And a person must fear Allah Mighty and Majestic and fulfill what Allah has obligated upon him. It is established in the two Sahihs from the hadith of 'Abdullah ibn 'Amr ibn al-'As that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) set the times, saying:Bulugh al-Maram 2:1 The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) defined the times and clarified them, so whoever takes the prayer out of the time defined by the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) has done a deed for which there is no command from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). And it is established from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that he said: Sahih Muslim 1718b.
The questioner : May Allah reward you and bless you.
The Shaykh : Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and I send prayers and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his Companions. Allah Mighty and Majestic said:
And indeed this, your religion, is one religion, and I am your Lord, so fear Me."
وَإِنَّ هَذِهِ أُمَّتُكُمْ أُمَّةً وَاحِدَةً وَأَنَا رَبُّكُمْ فَاتَّقُونِIndeed, those who have divided their religion and become sects - you, [O Muhammad], are not [associated] with them in anything. Their affair is only [left] to Allah; then He will inform them about what they used to do.
إِنَّ الَّذِينَ فَرَّقُوا دِينَهُمْ وَكَانُوا شِيَعًا لَسْتَ مِنْهُمْ فِي شَيْءٍ إِنَّمَا أَمْرُهُمْ إِلَى اللَّهِ ثُمَّ يُنَبِّئُهُمْ بِمَا كَانُوا يَفْعَلُونَAmong the most important things that obligate gathering upon the religion of Allah is establishing the congregational prayer in the mosques, for it is among the manifest rituals that carry many benefits. The Book and the Sunnah indicate that the congregational prayer is obligatory, and that it is not permissible for anyone to be absent from it and pray individually. You will find this in the Qur'an, where Allah the Exalted said:
And when you are among them and lead them in prayer, let a group of them stand [in prayer] with you and let them carry their arms. And when they have prostrated, let them be [in position] behind you and have the other group come forward which has not [yet] prayed and let them pray with you
وَإِذَا كُنتَ فِيهِمْ فَأَقَمْتَ لَهُمُ الصَّلاةَ فَلْتَقُمْ طَائِفَةٌ مِنْهُمْ مَعَكَ وَلْيَأْخُذُوا أَسْلِحَتَهُمْ فَإِذَا سَجَدُوا فَلْيَكُونُوا مِنْ وَرَائِكُمْ وَلْتَأْتِ طَائِفَةٌ أُخْرَى لَمْ يُصَلُّوا فَلْيُصَلُّوا مَعَكَAnd establish prayer and give zakah and bow with those who bow [in worship and obedience].
وَأَقِيمُوا الصَّلاةَ وَآتُوا الزَّكَاةَ وَارْكَعُوا مَعَ الرَّاكِعِينَAs for the Sunnah, the evidence for the obligation of the congregational prayer in it is abundant. It is authentic from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) from the hadith of Abu Hurayrah that he said:
I was thinking of commanding that the call to prayer be given, then I would tell a man to lead the people in prayer, then I would go out with some other men carrying bundles of wood, and go to people who do not attend the
لقد هممت أن آمر بالصلاة فتقام، ثم آمر رجلاً فيصلي بالناس، ثم أنطلق برجال معهم حزم من حطب إلى قوم لا يشهدون الجماعةwho are not present at the prayer, as it says in a version) and burning down their houses over them. By Him in whose hand my soul is, if one of them knew he would find a fat meaty bone or two fine sheep’s hoofs, he would attend the evening prayer.
لا يشهدون الصلاة فأحرق عليهم بيوتهم بالنار، والذي نفسي بيده لو يجد أحدهم عرقاً سميناً أو مرماتين حسنتين لشهد العشاءDo you hear the call?
هل تسمع النداء؟Then respond.
فأجبSo those who do not attend the congregation of the Muslims and pray individually have contradicted what the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) indicated, and what the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) were upon, which is praying in congregation with the Muslims. As for the statementThe questioner : that some people combine the prayers, if the combining has a cause that permits it, then it is permissible, and the Sunnah has indicated its permissibility, such as the hadith of Ibn 'Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both):
That the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) combined in Madinah without fear or rain.
أن النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم جمع في المدينة من غير خوف ولا مطرAnd if there is no excuse, then combining becomes forbidden, and the prayer performed outside its time is not valid. So if one combines the afternoon prayer with the midday prayer, for example, the afternoon prayer is not valid because he prayed it before its time entered, and he must repeat it in its time. And if he delays the midday prayer until the afternoon time, that delay is also forbidden for him, and his prayer is not accepted at that time because he delayed it without a legal cause.
And a person must fear Allah Mighty and Majestic and fulfill what Allah has obligated upon him. It is established in the two Sahihs from the hadith of 'Abdullah ibn 'Amr ibn al-'As that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) set the times, saying:
The time of the Zuhr (noon) prayer is when the sun passes the meridian and a man's shadow is of the same length as his height. It lasts until the time of the 'Asr (afternoon) prayer. The time of the 'Asr prayer is as long as the sun has not become yellow (during its setting). The time of the Maghrib (sunset) prayer is as long as the twilight has not disappeared. The time of the 'Isha' (night) prayer is up to midnight. And the time of the Fajr (morning) prayer is from the appearance of dawn as long as the sun has not risen
وقت الظهر إذا زالت الشمس وكان ظل الرجل كطوله ما لم يحضر وقت العصر، ووقت العصر ما لم تصفر الشمس، ووقت المغرب ما لم يغب الشفق، ووقت العشاء إلى نصف الليل، ووقت الفجر ما لم تطلع الشمسHe who did any act for which there is no sanction from our behalf, that is to be rejected.
من عمل عملاً ليس عليه أمرنا فهو ردThe questioner : May Allah reward you and bless you.