The reward of the imam if he does not hasten to the Friday prayer
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner:
I ask Allah for your sake, O imams of the congregational mosques.
The Shaykh:
Combining the announcement. Yes.
The questioner:
I ask Allah for your sake, O imams of the congregational mosques. If the imam enters at the time of the sun’s zenith or so, and does not hasten to enter, does he get any of this reward or this recompense? I mean, the imam of the congregational mosque who delivers the sermon; his entry is at the time of the zenith, not in the first, second, or third hour, or any other time?
The Shaykh:
Whoever is pure from the prohibition of the Shari'ah has the full reward, because this is prescribed for him; it comes to him when he attends the prayer.
The questioner:
He occupies himself with the remembrance of Allah.
The Shaykh:
It appears that he has the reward of those who come early; because the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), who is the master of the people and the best of them and the first to every good, used to come to the prayer at the time of the sermon. He would come and pray, may Allah pray upon him and grant him peace. So the imam is an exception; it appears that he has the virtue of those who come early, even if he is late. Yes. Allah knows best. There is nothing that clarifies a matter, or in the Sunnah in the sense that something makes the imam do this and that in his house. So if he occupies himself with recitation in his house or with prayer, it is all good.
I ask Allah for your sake, O imams of the congregational mosques.
The Shaykh:
Combining the announcement. Yes.
The questioner:
I ask Allah for your sake, O imams of the congregational mosques. If the imam enters at the time of the sun’s zenith or so, and does not hasten to enter, does he get any of this reward or this recompense? I mean, the imam of the congregational mosque who delivers the sermon; his entry is at the time of the zenith, not in the first, second, or third hour, or any other time?
The Shaykh:
Whoever is pure from the prohibition of the Shari'ah has the full reward, because this is prescribed for him; it comes to him when he attends the prayer.
The questioner:
He occupies himself with the remembrance of Allah.
The Shaykh:
It appears that he has the reward of those who come early; because the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), who is the master of the people and the best of them and the first to every good, used to come to the prayer at the time of the sermon. He would come and pray, may Allah pray upon him and grant him peace. So the imam is an exception; it appears that he has the virtue of those who come early, even if he is late. Yes. Allah knows best. There is nothing that clarifies a matter, or in the Sunnah in the sense that something makes the imam do this and that in his house. So if he occupies himself with recitation in his house or with prayer, it is all good.
Source
التعليق على بعض أحاديث موطأ مالك، من أول باب: النَّظَرِ فِي الصَّلاَةِ إِلَى مَا يَشْغَلُكَ عَنْهَا، إلى باب: مَا جَاءَ فِي صَلاَةِ اللَّيْلِ — islamhouse.com (12:27)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.