What is the obligation of the imam regarding one who delays the takbir of ihram, causing disorder in the rows?
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Question:
Honorable Shaykh, the questioner says: I am the imam of a mosque. When the iqamah is called and the rows are straightened, there is a person who is always late to stand for the prayer. He is either reading the Qur'an or just sitting. This results in disorder in the row, and he is also late for the takbir of ihram. What is my obligation? Should I order him to stand for the prayer in front of the mosque congregation, considering that he is much older than me?
Answer:
It is obligatory for you to advise him in private between you and him. You tell him: When the iqamah is called, stand up and say the takbir with the imam. Attend the takbir of ihram and do not delay. Because some people think they can sit until the ruku'. This is wrong. This is wrong. One must stand before the ruku' for the duration of reciting al-Fatihah at least. This is a pillar.
Standing before the ruku' for the duration of reciting al-Fatihah is a pillar of the prayer, except for one who missed it and did not attend until the imam's ruku'; in that case, he bows with the imam and it is sufficient. As for a person sitting in the mosque who says, "Let them leave me until they bow," this is not permissible, and his prayer is not valid, because he missed the pillar, the pillar of standing in the prayer.
And you must advise him and make it clear to him that this is a defect and a deficiency, and it may expose him to missing the standing entirely, so his prayer would not be valid. Mention this to him so that perhaps he will remember. Yes.
Honorable Shaykh, the questioner says: I am the imam of a mosque. When the iqamah is called and the rows are straightened, there is a person who is always late to stand for the prayer. He is either reading the Qur'an or just sitting. This results in disorder in the row, and he is also late for the takbir of ihram. What is my obligation? Should I order him to stand for the prayer in front of the mosque congregation, considering that he is much older than me?
Answer:
It is obligatory for you to advise him in private between you and him. You tell him: When the iqamah is called, stand up and say the takbir with the imam. Attend the takbir of ihram and do not delay. Because some people think they can sit until the ruku'. This is wrong. This is wrong. One must stand before the ruku' for the duration of reciting al-Fatihah at least. This is a pillar.
Standing before the ruku' for the duration of reciting al-Fatihah is a pillar of the prayer, except for one who missed it and did not attend until the imam's ruku'; in that case, he bows with the imam and it is sufficient. As for a person sitting in the mosque who says, "Let them leave me until they bow," this is not permissible, and his prayer is not valid, because he missed the pillar, the pillar of standing in the prayer.
And you must advise him and make it clear to him that this is a defect and a deficiency, and it may expose him to missing the standing entirely, so his prayer would not be valid. Mention this to him so that perhaps he will remember. Yes.
Source
قناة «العلامة الدكتور صالح الفوزان»، ما الواجب على الإمام فيمن يتأخر عن تكبيرة الإحرام ويؤدي إلى خلل في الصف؟ للشيخ صالح الفوزان — youtube.com
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.