If the imam prays while traveling with a group of residents, does he lower his voice when saying the taslim and tell them, "Complete your prayer, for we are a traveling group"?
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The questioner : That is, the issue here is known: the taslim is raising the voice, as in the hadiths reported from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him).
The Shaykh : Yes, indeed.
The questioner : So, if we consider the case of the traveling imam who prays with a group of residents, in this state he lowers his voice. The evidence for this is that in the hadiths regarding the taslim of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) or the taslim of 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him), the narrator did not say, "He said, 'Peace be upon you. Complete your prayer, for we are a traveling group.'" This is one point. If he had raised his voice, the narrator would have said, "'Umar said, 'Peace be upon you. Complete your prayer, for we are a traveling group,'" and the Sunnah would be to raise the voice. But since he did not say that, it indicates that the preferred course is to lower the voice.
Another point is the presence of the cause for this. Raising the voice in the taslim might disturb the praying people. Both of these points restrict the general ruling derived from the action, not from the statement that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to raise his voice in the taslim.
The Shaykh : I do not recall the disturbance. I say that it is not reported from the Messenger (peace be upon him) or from 'Umar. We said at that time that regarding the Messenger, the chain is weak, and regarding 'Umar, the chain is authentic. Raising the voice is not reported. Therefore, wisdom dictates lowering the voice. Why? Because it may disturb the praying people. We always see this, and perhaps I mentioned it at the end of the previous session or in another one.
I led the people in the 'Isha' prayer in Tabuk. One of them put me forward as imam. I said to him, "My brother, the people today do not know this ruling. I am praying two rak'ahs, and they need to stand and complete two rak'ahs." He said, "It is not your concern. You just alert them." Instead of alerting them, I gave them a lecture. I gave them a lecture that the Sunnah for the traveler is to shorten the prayer, and many scholars say that shortening is obligatory. Based on that, I will pray two rak'ahs with you, but I hope you will pay attention. I will not let you hear my taslim, and I will tell you, "Complete your prayer, for we are a traveling group." Despite that, after I prayed two rak'ahs and did what I had alerted them to, some people made a commotion afterwards. They said to the one who put me forward, "Why did you put this imam in front of us? We made a commotion and confusion, and so on," of the words that I do not remember verbatim.
So, the point is, with this caution and explanation, what if the Sunnah were for the imam to say aloud, "Complete your prayer," no matter how good one's opinion of the people? What would some of them do, at least? Would they not respond to the imam? And as happened in the time of the Messenger (peace be upon him) when he prayed 'Asr in two rak'ahs, the people said taslim with him and left. The people left quickly until Dhu al-Yadayn stood up, andAs-Sunan al-Kubra lil-Nasa'i 3:43 the hadith is well known, of course.
So, the point is that the Shari'ah always establishes, as they say, a barrier against the means to harm. It takes measures and means so that people do not fall into violating the Shari'ah. People are accustomed to praying four rak'ahs. The iqamah is called, and it happens that the imam is a traveler. The wisdom of legislation required that the imam not let these people, who are residents, hear his taslim. But on the contrary, he lets them hear the Arabic phrase, "Complete your prayer, for we are a traveling group."
The questioner : Complete
The Shaykh : Yes
The questioner : Complete
The Shaykh : Complete, complete
The questioner : You said "Establish"
The Shaykh : I said "Establish." I said "Complete your prayer, for we are a traveling group". This was reported as said aloud, but the taslim was not reported as said aloud. Therefore, the Muslim is free not to raise his voice, especially in light of the wisdom we mentioned earlier and which we have seen in many travels.
The Shaykh : Yes, indeed.
The questioner : So, if we consider the case of the traveling imam who prays with a group of residents, in this state he lowers his voice. The evidence for this is that in the hadiths regarding the taslim of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) or the taslim of 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him), the narrator did not say, "He said, 'Peace be upon you. Complete your prayer, for we are a traveling group.'" This is one point. If he had raised his voice, the narrator would have said, "'Umar said, 'Peace be upon you. Complete your prayer, for we are a traveling group,'" and the Sunnah would be to raise the voice. But since he did not say that, it indicates that the preferred course is to lower the voice.
Another point is the presence of the cause for this. Raising the voice in the taslim might disturb the praying people. Both of these points restrict the general ruling derived from the action, not from the statement that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to raise his voice in the taslim.
The Shaykh : I do not recall the disturbance. I say that it is not reported from the Messenger (peace be upon him) or from 'Umar. We said at that time that regarding the Messenger, the chain is weak, and regarding 'Umar, the chain is authentic. Raising the voice is not reported. Therefore, wisdom dictates lowering the voice. Why? Because it may disturb the praying people. We always see this, and perhaps I mentioned it at the end of the previous session or in another one.
I led the people in the 'Isha' prayer in Tabuk. One of them put me forward as imam. I said to him, "My brother, the people today do not know this ruling. I am praying two rak'ahs, and they need to stand and complete two rak'ahs." He said, "It is not your concern. You just alert them." Instead of alerting them, I gave them a lecture. I gave them a lecture that the Sunnah for the traveler is to shorten the prayer, and many scholars say that shortening is obligatory. Based on that, I will pray two rak'ahs with you, but I hope you will pay attention. I will not let you hear my taslim, and I will tell you, "Complete your prayer, for we are a traveling group." Despite that, after I prayed two rak'ahs and did what I had alerted them to, some people made a commotion afterwards. They said to the one who put me forward, "Why did you put this imam in front of us? We made a commotion and confusion, and so on," of the words that I do not remember verbatim.
So, the point is, with this caution and explanation, what if the Sunnah were for the imam to say aloud, "Complete your prayer," no matter how good one's opinion of the people? What would some of them do, at least? Would they not respond to the imam? And as happened in the time of the Messenger (peace be upon him) when he prayed 'Asr in two rak'ahs, the people said taslim with him and left. The people left quickly until Dhu al-Yadayn stood up, and
He said, "O Messenger of Allah, did the prayer become short, or did you forget?"
قال يا رسول الله أقصرت الصلاة أم نسيتSo, the point is that the Shari'ah always establishes, as they say, a barrier against the means to harm. It takes measures and means so that people do not fall into violating the Shari'ah. People are accustomed to praying four rak'ahs. The iqamah is called, and it happens that the imam is a traveler. The wisdom of legislation required that the imam not let these people, who are residents, hear his taslim. But on the contrary, he lets them hear the Arabic phrase, "Complete your prayer, for we are a traveling group."
The questioner : Complete
The Shaykh : Yes
The questioner : Complete
The Shaykh : Complete, complete
The questioner : You said "Establish"
The Shaykh : I said "Establish." I said "Complete your prayer, for we are a traveling group". This was reported as said aloud, but the taslim was not reported as said aloud. Therefore, the Muslim is free not to raise his voice, especially in light of the wisdom we mentioned earlier and which we have seen in many travels.