How the traveling imam concludes the prayer when leading residents, and what he says to them?
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The Shaykh : Exiting the prayer is not done except by the taslim, as stated in the authentic hadith: Sunan Abi Dawud 61Hasan Sahih (Al-Albani) We do not find in the Sunnah or in the Salafi athar that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) or 'Umar ibn al-Khattab, from whom it is authentically reported that when he led the people of Makkah and prayed with them in shortened form, he said to them: Muwatta Malik 9:22
It is correct that the imam says the taslim in a way that he hears himself, and thereby he exits the prayer according to the text of the previous hadith, and he raises his voice with what is established from 'Umar ibn al-Khattab, and it is narrated from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that he said:Muwatta Malik 9:22 So this phrase after the taslim, said in a lowered voice, is a warning to those people not to join the imam and exit the prayer with him by the taslim, because they are residents. This is what I see. As for saying "Complete your prayer" and making that in place of "Peace be upon you," I do not believe anyone falls into such a grave error. The taslim is obligatory, but there is a difference between the taslim being said aloud, which is the default for the imam, and it being said quietly, as I see in such a situation.
Has the matter become clear to you?
The questioner : Is this reported from 'Umar ibn al-Khattab?
The Shaykh : And what is it?
The questioner : The guidance you mentioned.
The Shaykh : "Complete"?
The questioner : No, lowering the voice with the taslim?
The Shaykh : No, no, I say: when the narrator mentioned what was reported from 'Umar, he did not mention that he said: "Peace be upon you and Allah's mercy, complete your prayer, for we are a traveling people," but he only mentioned this phrase. So I understand from this that he said the taslim quietly, and the taslim is obligatory as I mentioned earlier.
The questioner : May Allah forgive you, what is brought against it is that he is their imam, and how does he separate from them with this taslim?
The Shaykh : He did not separate from them, may Allah bless you.
The questioner : He said the taslim for himself quietly as I understood, then said it for them?
The Shaykh : That means he separated for himself if he said "Peace be upon you," he separated for himself?!
The whole matter—may Allah bless you all—is that he did not make them hear it, rather he did not make them hear it to prevent the harm that we actually feel. I have experienced very strange incidents in this issue due to people's ignorance and negligence, among which: that I said to them aloud at first: "Peace be upon you and Allah's mercy," and many of them said the taslim with me.
And more than that: in some of my travels to the Kingdom for Hajj and 'Umrah, I stayed in Tabuk, and I prayed the 'Isha' prayer with them after they nominated me and I apologized, fearing that I would say the taslim at the end of the two rak'ahs, and this is something the majority are not accustomed to. So the one nominated for the imamah said to me: "Okay, no problem, give them a word and remind them of it." So I actually did, and I found myself delivering a lecture, reminding them of the Sunnah regarding the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), that when he traveled he prayed in shortened form, and it is not authentically established from him (peace and blessings be upon him) that he completed the prayer, contrary to the hadith of al-Daraqutni narrated from 'A'ishah, and so on. So therefore, my brothers, be aware: following the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), I will pray with you only two rak'ahs, and I will not make you hear my taslim for fear that you will exit the prayer with me, rather I will say the taslim in a lowered voice, and I will make you hear my saying: "Complete your prayer, for we are a traveling people." And after all this, I prayed two rak'ahs and the people actually said the taslim with me, they exited the prayer, and the commotion and disturbance began, and many of them stood up objecting to the one who nominated me: "O Shaykh, why did you present this man who disturbs our prayer," and so on. So after all this warning, it did not help.
And therefore I see that the imam should consider the conditions of the people, and not be a cause of ruining their prayer. If the prayer is valid now, I do not think that a scholar in ordinary prayer, if the imam said: "Peace be upon you and Allah's mercy" and the people said the taslim, did their prayer not become valid?
Without doubt their prayer is valid, but they contradicted the Sunnah, because he is the imam and the Sunnah is that he makes his taslim heard, yes?
The questioner : And he turns.
The Shaykh : Yes?
The questioner : And he turns.
The Shaykh : And what else?
The questioner : He turns.
The Shaykh : He must turn, but here in this specific, particular issue, he should consider the conditions of these poor people who do not attend knowledge, and even if they attend, they may not understand, and similar unfortunate matters. So if the imam says quietly: "Peace be upon you and Allah's mercy, complete your prayer, for we are a traveling people," the interest of the actual situation requires that, with regard to something I mentioned earlier:
We did not find in the Sunnah or in the athar from 'Umar—I say in the Sunnah because the hadith reported in that is not authentic to be used as evidence, because it contains the man known for poor memorization, 'Ali ibn Zayd ibn Jad'an, and this is in the prayer of the Messenger (peace be upon him) in Tabuk, in which the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:Muwatta Malik 9:22 So the chain is weak—but the action of 'Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him), and that is established from him with an authentic chain, and in Makkah, and in the presence of a large gathering of the Companions, confirms that this has a basis in the Sunnah. And in such a case, we say: this weak hadith is strengthened by this authentic athar. So we did not find in the hadith or the athar that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) or 'Umar raised his voice as usual: "Peace be upon you and Allah's mercy." So I attributed that to what I witnessed practically, so that people do not rush and say the taslim with him while they are residents. This is what we see, and Allah knows best.
The questioner : Regarding.
its beginning is takbir and its end is taslim
تحريمها التكبير، وتحليلها التسليمcomplete the prayer, we are a group travelling.
أتموا صلاتكم فإنا قومٌ سَفْرIt is correct that the imam says the taslim in a way that he hears himself, and thereby he exits the prayer according to the text of the previous hadith, and he raises his voice with what is established from 'Umar ibn al-Khattab, and it is narrated from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that he said:
complete the prayer, we are a group travelling.
أتموا صلاتكم فإنا قومٌ سَفْرHas the matter become clear to you?
The questioner : Is this reported from 'Umar ibn al-Khattab?
The Shaykh : And what is it?
The questioner : The guidance you mentioned.
The Shaykh : "Complete"?
The questioner : No, lowering the voice with the taslim?
The Shaykh : No, no, I say: when the narrator mentioned what was reported from 'Umar, he did not mention that he said: "Peace be upon you and Allah's mercy, complete your prayer, for we are a traveling people," but he only mentioned this phrase. So I understand from this that he said the taslim quietly, and the taslim is obligatory as I mentioned earlier.
The questioner : May Allah forgive you, what is brought against it is that he is their imam, and how does he separate from them with this taslim?
The Shaykh : He did not separate from them, may Allah bless you.
The questioner : He said the taslim for himself quietly as I understood, then said it for them?
The Shaykh : That means he separated for himself if he said "Peace be upon you," he separated for himself?!
The whole matter—may Allah bless you all—is that he did not make them hear it, rather he did not make them hear it to prevent the harm that we actually feel. I have experienced very strange incidents in this issue due to people's ignorance and negligence, among which: that I said to them aloud at first: "Peace be upon you and Allah's mercy," and many of them said the taslim with me.
And more than that: in some of my travels to the Kingdom for Hajj and 'Umrah, I stayed in Tabuk, and I prayed the 'Isha' prayer with them after they nominated me and I apologized, fearing that I would say the taslim at the end of the two rak'ahs, and this is something the majority are not accustomed to. So the one nominated for the imamah said to me: "Okay, no problem, give them a word and remind them of it." So I actually did, and I found myself delivering a lecture, reminding them of the Sunnah regarding the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), that when he traveled he prayed in shortened form, and it is not authentically established from him (peace and blessings be upon him) that he completed the prayer, contrary to the hadith of al-Daraqutni narrated from 'A'ishah, and so on. So therefore, my brothers, be aware: following the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), I will pray with you only two rak'ahs, and I will not make you hear my taslim for fear that you will exit the prayer with me, rather I will say the taslim in a lowered voice, and I will make you hear my saying: "Complete your prayer, for we are a traveling people." And after all this, I prayed two rak'ahs and the people actually said the taslim with me, they exited the prayer, and the commotion and disturbance began, and many of them stood up objecting to the one who nominated me: "O Shaykh, why did you present this man who disturbs our prayer," and so on. So after all this warning, it did not help.
And therefore I see that the imam should consider the conditions of the people, and not be a cause of ruining their prayer. If the prayer is valid now, I do not think that a scholar in ordinary prayer, if the imam said: "Peace be upon you and Allah's mercy" and the people said the taslim, did their prayer not become valid?
Without doubt their prayer is valid, but they contradicted the Sunnah, because he is the imam and the Sunnah is that he makes his taslim heard, yes?
The questioner : And he turns.
The Shaykh : Yes?
The questioner : And he turns.
The Shaykh : And what else?
The questioner : He turns.
The Shaykh : He must turn, but here in this specific, particular issue, he should consider the conditions of these poor people who do not attend knowledge, and even if they attend, they may not understand, and similar unfortunate matters. So if the imam says quietly: "Peace be upon you and Allah's mercy, complete your prayer, for we are a traveling people," the interest of the actual situation requires that, with regard to something I mentioned earlier:
We did not find in the Sunnah or in the athar from 'Umar—I say in the Sunnah because the hadith reported in that is not authentic to be used as evidence, because it contains the man known for poor memorization, 'Ali ibn Zayd ibn Jad'an, and this is in the prayer of the Messenger (peace be upon him) in Tabuk, in which the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
complete the prayer, we are a group travelling.
أتموا صلاتكم فإنا قوم سفرThe questioner : Regarding.