What is the form of the prayer of fear, when was it made obligatory, and who are the people of the Soffah?
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The questioner : What is the form of the prayer of fear? When was it made obligatory? And who are the people of the Soffah?
The Shaykh : The prayer of fear has multiple forms, among which is what is in the hadith of Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) divided the army into two groups: one group he placed facing the enemy, and another group with whom he prayed. So he prayed one rak'ah with them, then stood up for the second rak'ah and remained standing, so they completed it for themselves, meaning: they recited what was easy of the Qur'an along with al-Fatihah, then they bowed and prostrated and completed the prayer, and they left in the place of the group that was guarding. Then the group that was guarding came, and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) had not ceased standing, so they entered with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and prayed with him the remaining rak'ah. Then when he sat for the tashahhud, they stood up and completed their prayer while he was in his tashahhud waiting for them. When they sat for the tashahhud and recited it, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said the taslim with them. So the distinction for the first group was that they caught the takbir of ihram, and the distinction for the second group was that they caught the taslim with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). And this is from the perfection of justice and fairness. And this form is the one that agrees with the apparent meaning of the Qur'an. Allah the Exalted said:[An-Nisa 4:102] And the meaning of is: they completed their prayer: [An-Nisa 4:102] And this form that we mentioned matches the apparent meaning of the Qur'an.
As for the second form: it is when the enemy is in front of them facing the qiblah, and they do not fear an ambush coming from behind their backs. And this form is that the imam makes the army two rows, a front row and a back row. He begins the prayer with them all. When he bows, they all bow, and they all stand up from the bowing. When he prostrates, the front row prostrates with him, and the back row remains standing, so that the enemy does not come and attack the praying people. When he stands up for the second rak'ah and the front row stands up with him, the back row prostrates. When they stand up, the back row moves forward and they are in the place of the front row, and the front row moves back and is in the place of the back row. Then they do in the second rak'ah what they did in the first. When the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) sat for the tashahhud and the row next to him sat with him, the back row descended to prostrate, then they sat with them, and then he said the taslim with them all. So in this form, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) began the prayer with them all and said the taslim with them all. And look at the perfection of justice in the Shari'ah of Islam, where it extended even to the places of these praying people: those in the front row moved back, and the back row moved forward, so that they would not say: why should these people be in the front row for the whole prayer, and we in the back row for the whole prayer?
And there are other forms of the prayer of fear, all of which are permissible. But the meaning of our saying that they are all permissible is not that they are permissible by choice, but rather that they are permissible in the form that was reported from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). For example, the second form that we mentioned is not valid in the place of the first form, and the first form is not valid in the place of the second form. Rather, each prayer is performed in its appropriate form according to the state of the battle.
And the people of knowledge have used the prayer of fear as evidence that congregational prayer is obligatory. They said: it contains actions and movements that a person cannot do in a state of safety, all of that for the sake of considering the congregation. That indicates its obligation, meaning the obligation of congregational prayer. And in His saying:[An-Nisa 4:102] is evidence that congregational prayer is an individual obligation. If it had been a collective obligation, the congregation of the first group would have been sufficient.
Who are the people of the Soffah?
Answer: The people of the Soffah are those who emigrated from Makkah to al-Madinah, and they were poor and did not find shelter. So they came to this Soffah in the mosque of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and lived in it on what people's hands were generous with. And they are not specified by their persons, nor limited by a number. Rather, they increase and decrease, and one of them goes out and another returns, and so on.
The questioner : May Allah bless you.
The Shaykh : The prayer of fear has multiple forms, among which is what is in the hadith of Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) divided the army into two groups: one group he placed facing the enemy, and another group with whom he prayed. So he prayed one rak'ah with them, then stood up for the second rak'ah and remained standing, so they completed it for themselves, meaning: they recited what was easy of the Qur'an along with al-Fatihah, then they bowed and prostrated and completed the prayer, and they left in the place of the group that was guarding. Then the group that was guarding came, and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) had not ceased standing, so they entered with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and prayed with him the remaining rak'ah. Then when he sat for the tashahhud, they stood up and completed their prayer while he was in his tashahhud waiting for them. When they sat for the tashahhud and recited it, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said the taslim with them. So the distinction for the first group was that they caught the takbir of ihram, and the distinction for the second group was that they caught the taslim with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). And this is from the perfection of justice and fairness. And this form is the one that agrees with the apparent meaning of the Qur'an. 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
وَإِذَا كُنتَ فِيهِمْ فَأَقَمْتَ لَهُمُ الصَّلاةَ فَلْتَقُمْ طَائِفَةٌ مِنْهُمْ مَعَكَ وَلْيَأْخُذُوا أَسْلِحَتَهُمْ فَإِذَا سَجَدُوا فَلْيَكُونُوا مِنْ وَرَائِكُمْwhen they have prostrated
فإذا سجدواlet them be [in position] behind you and have the other group come forward which has not [yet] prayed and let them pray with you, taking precaution and carrying their arms
فَلْيَكُونُوا مِنْ وَرَائِكُمْ وَلْتَأْتِ طَائِفَةٌ أُخْرَى لَمْ يُصَلُّوا فَلْيُصَلُّوا مَعَكَ وَلْيَأْخُذُوا حِذْرَهُمْ وَأَسْلِحَتَهُمْAs for the second form: it is when the enemy is in front of them facing the qiblah, and they do not fear an ambush coming from behind their backs. And this form is that the imam makes the army two rows, a front row and a back row. He begins the prayer with them all. When he bows, they all bow, and they all stand up from the bowing. When he prostrates, the front row prostrates with him, and the back row remains standing, so that the enemy does not come and attack the praying people. When he stands up for the second rak'ah and the front row stands up with him, the back row prostrates. When they stand up, the back row moves forward and they are in the place of the front row, and the front row moves back and is in the place of the back row. Then they do in the second rak'ah what they did in the first. When the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) sat for the tashahhud and the row next to him sat with him, the back row descended to prostrate, then they sat with them, and then he said the taslim with them all. So in this form, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) began the prayer with them all and said the taslim with them all. And look at the perfection of justice in the Shari'ah of Islam, where it extended even to the places of these praying people: those in the front row moved back, and the back row moved forward, so that they would not say: why should these people be in the front row for the whole prayer, and we in the back row for the whole prayer?
And there are other forms of the prayer of fear, all of which are permissible. But the meaning of our saying that they are all permissible is not that they are permissible by choice, but rather that they are permissible in the form that was reported from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). For example, the second form that we mentioned is not valid in the place of the first form, and the first form is not valid in the place of the second form. Rather, each prayer is performed in its appropriate form according to the state of the battle.
And the people of knowledge have used the prayer of fear as evidence that congregational prayer is obligatory. They said: it contains actions and movements that a person cannot do in a state of safety, all of that for the sake of considering the congregation. That indicates its obligation, meaning the obligation of congregational prayer. And in His saying:
and have the other group come forward which has not [yet] prayed and let them pray with you
وَلْتَأْتِ طَائِفَةٌ أُخْرَى لَمْ يُصَلُّوا فَلْيُصَلُّوا مَعَكَWho are the people of the Soffah?
Answer: The people of the Soffah are those who emigrated from Makkah to al-Madinah, and they were poor and did not find shelter. So they came to this Soffah in the mosque of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and lived in it on what people's hands were generous with. And they are not specified by their persons, nor limited by a number. Rather, they increase and decrease, and one of them goes out and another returns, and so on.
The questioner : May Allah bless you.