What is the ruling on following the imam from the mushaf during the tarawih prayer?
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Question : Shaykh Muhammad, regarding following the imam from the mushaf during the tarawih prayer, is this permissible?
Answer : Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and I send prayers and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and his Companions, and upon those who follow them in excellence until the Day of Judgment.
As for the imam, if he is not a memorizer of the Qur'an, there is no blame on him for reading from the mushaf due to his need for it. As for the ma'mums behind him, they should not carry the mushaf to follow the imam. Yes.
This is because if he carries the mushaf and occupies his eyes with the letters and words he sees, it distracts him from being mindful that he is in prayer, and his imagination carries him away as if he were in one of the circles for memorizing the Qur'an. This disrupts the prayer. Also, the one carrying the mushaf without need will make movements when carrying it and lowering it.
Turning the pages are movements that are not needed, and the scholars (may Allah have mercy on them) mentioned that a movement that is not needed is disliked. Thirdly, the one carrying the mushaf.
Among the ma'mums, carrying it prevents him from the sunnah of placing the hands on the chest. It is from the sunnah in standing in prayer for a man to place his right hand on his left forearm, as Sahl ibn Sa'd (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "The people were ordered in prayer to place a man's right hand on his left forearm." Therefore, the ma'mums should not carry the mushafs to follow the imam, but they should follow the imam with their hearts. Yes, if it were the case that the imam is reading from memory and his memorization is not strong, and he asked one of the ma'mums to be behind him carrying the mushaf to open it for him, then there is nothing wrong with that, because it is a need.
Answer : Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and I send prayers and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and his Companions, and upon those who follow them in excellence until the Day of Judgment.
As for the imam, if he is not a memorizer of the Qur'an, there is no blame on him for reading from the mushaf due to his need for it. As for the ma'mums behind him, they should not carry the mushaf to follow the imam. Yes.
This is because if he carries the mushaf and occupies his eyes with the letters and words he sees, it distracts him from being mindful that he is in prayer, and his imagination carries him away as if he were in one of the circles for memorizing the Qur'an. This disrupts the prayer. Also, the one carrying the mushaf without need will make movements when carrying it and lowering it.
Turning the pages are movements that are not needed, and the scholars (may Allah have mercy on them) mentioned that a movement that is not needed is disliked. Thirdly, the one carrying the mushaf.
Among the ma'mums, carrying it prevents him from the sunnah of placing the hands on the chest. It is from the sunnah in standing in prayer for a man to place his right hand on his left forearm, as Sahl ibn Sa'd (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "The people were ordered in prayer to place a man's right hand on his left forearm." Therefore, the ma'mums should not carry the mushafs to follow the imam, but they should follow the imam with their hearts. Yes, if it were the case that the imam is reading from memory and his memorization is not strong, and he asked one of the ma'mums to be behind him carrying the mushaf to open it for him, then there is nothing wrong with that, because it is a need.
Source
قناة «فضيلة الشيخ محمد بن صالح العثيمين»، 544- ما حكم متابعة الإمام من المصحف في صلاة التراويح/سؤال على الهاتف 📞 /ابن عثيمين — youtube.com
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.
