The questioner says: I observed during the Tarawih prayer in the blessed month of Ramadan that some people who are late for the Isha prayer with the congregation, when they arrive...
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The questioner : I observed during the Tarawih prayer in the blessed month of Ramadan that some people who are late for the Isha prayer with the congregation, when they arrive and the Isha prayer has ended, and the imam and the worshippers have started the Tarawih prayer, they pray Isha with them. Since they pray two rak'ahs, when the imam and the worshippers finish, they do not say the taslim but remain standing. Then the imam and the worshippers stand up and begin the other two rak'ahs, so they pray the remaining two rak'ahs of Isha together with the other two. Then, when the four rak'ahs are finished, they pray Tarawih with them. Is this permissible or not? Please guide us, may Allah grant you success. I believe the listener, Muhammad, means that the one who arrives and has missed the Isha prayer prays two rak'ahs with the imam, then sits for the tashahhud without saying the taslim and remains sitting. The imam and the worshippers stand up and perform two rak'ahs, then sit for the tashahhud of the two rak'ahs. Those who missed the prayer tashahhud with them, then they say the taslim without standing up to catch up, for example?
The Shaykh : No, no. The scenario of the question is if they arrive and the imam has already started the Tarawih.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : They pray two rak'ahs with him.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : When the imam says the taslim, they do not say it.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : When the person stands up for the second taslim, they join him to make up what remains of their prayer.
The questioner : Yes, and they do not stand up on their own.
The Shaykh : They do not complete the Isha prayer individually.
The questioner : Yes, yes.
The Shaykh : Rather, they wait until the imam stands up for the second taslim. When he says the takbir for the second taslim, they stand up from the tashahhud and pray the remaining two rak'ahs with him.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : This is the scenario...
The questioner : This is the question, yes.
The Shaykh : That he asked about.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : And the answer to this is to say, after praising Allah the Exalted and sending blessings and peace upon His Messenger, that this issue is based on a principle: Is it permissible for one who is praying an obligatory prayer to pray behind one who is praying a voluntary prayer? This is a matter of disagreement among the scholars. Some say it is not permissible for one who is praying an obligatory prayer to pray behind one who is praying a voluntary prayer, because the prayer of the ma'mum here is higher than the prayer of the imam.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : And it is not possible for the complete to follow the incomplete, and because the two prayers are different, indeed they are different. And the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:Sahih al-Bukhari 722.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : And some of the scholars said that it is permissible for one who is praying an obligatory prayer to pray behind one who is praying a voluntary prayer.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : And they cite as evidence for this what is established in the two Sahihs that Mu'adh ibn Jabal (may Allah be pleased with him) used to pray the Isha prayer with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), then he would return to his people and pray that prayer with them, which was a voluntary prayer for him and an obligatory prayer for them.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : And they say that this was done in the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and was not condemned. The claim that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) perhaps did not know about it is not valid, because we say it is unlikely that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) did not know about it, especially since Mu'adh was complained to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) about lengthening the prayer.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Then, even if the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) did not know about it, Allah the Exalted knew about it. If this had been an abominable matter, Allah the Exalted would have clarified it.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : For Allah the Exalted does not approve of an abominable matter. Therefore, Allah the Exalted exposes the hypocrites for what they concealed in their hearts, because it is an abominable matter. And the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) cited as evidence for the permissibility of 'azl (coitus interruptus), where a man interrupts intercourse with his wife, the fact that the Qur'an descends. The meaning of their evidence is that what the Qur'an approves of is permissible. So here we say that the action of Mu'adh is permissible by the approval of Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He, for it, and necessarily so.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : And there is no contradiction in this. And if the permissibility of one who is praying an obligatory prayer behind one who is praying a voluntary prayer is established by the approving Sunnah that Allah the Exalted approved of in the time of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), it indicates that the opinion of prohibition is a weak opinion. And on this basis, it is permissible for a man to pray the obligatory prayer behind one who is praying a voluntary prayer. Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal (may Allah have mercy on him) explicitly stated that if a person misses the Isha prayer and prays it behind one who is praying Tarawih, there is no harm in it. So we say that this action which some people do, as described by the questioner, is a permissible action. It is permissible for a man, if he arrives and has missed the Isha prayer and finds them praying Tarawih, to join them with the intention of Isha, and for every person is what he intends.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Then, when the imam says the taslim from the Tarawih, he completes what remains of his prayer, meaning the Isha prayer. If he caught the two rak'ahs of the Tarawih, he completes it with two rak'ahs. And if he caught one rak'ah of the Tarawih, he completes it with three rak'ahs.
The questioner : But he does not complete it with the imam.
The Shaykh : As for the opinion that this is a difference of intention and is not permissible, we say that a difference of intention does not have an effect. The evidence is that one who is praying a voluntary prayer behind one who is praying an obligatory prayer is permissible, even according to those who prohibit one who is praying an obligatory prayer behind one who is praying a voluntary prayer. They say if one prays a voluntary prayer behind one who is praying an obligatory prayer, meaning if a person prays a voluntary prayer behind one who is praying an obligatory prayer, there is no harm.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : And in any case, if they do that, there is no harm in it. What I hold back from is their waiting for the imam until he enters the second taslim and they complete the prayer with him. I hold back from this because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) says:Sahih al-Bukhari 635. The apparent meaning is that a person completes what he missed with his imam alone, he completes it alone, meaning he does not wait until the imam starts the second taslim. We do not say that if the imam says the taslim in the prayer in which he caught up, he completes it and does not wait until he enters another prayer.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner : Because his first prayer was cut off by the taslim.
The Shaykh : Yes, indeed.
The questioner : So how is it that this is cut off, for example, and he exits the prayer, while this one remains waiting for the imam?
The Shaykh : This is what I am telling you that we hold back from.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Therefore, it is not recommended that they do it. They should do it: when the imam says the taslim from the taslim that they caught up with him, they should complete their prayer individually, then pray with the imam.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : No, no. The scenario of the question is if they arrive and the imam has already started the Tarawih.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : They pray two rak'ahs with him.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : When the imam says the taslim, they do not say it.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : When the person stands up for the second taslim, they join him to make up what remains of their prayer.
The questioner : Yes, and they do not stand up on their own.
The Shaykh : They do not complete the Isha prayer individually.
The questioner : Yes, yes.
The Shaykh : Rather, they wait until the imam stands up for the second taslim. When he says the takbir for the second taslim, they stand up from the tashahhud and pray the remaining two rak'ahs with him.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : This is the scenario...
The questioner : This is the question, yes.
The Shaykh : That he asked about.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : And the answer to this is to say, after praising Allah the Exalted and sending blessings and peace upon His Messenger, that this issue is based on a principle: Is it permissible for one who is praying an obligatory prayer to pray behind one who is praying a voluntary prayer? This is a matter of disagreement among the scholars. Some say it is not permissible for one who is praying an obligatory prayer to pray behind one who is praying a voluntary prayer, because the prayer of the ma'mum here is higher than the prayer of the imam.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : And it is not possible for the complete to follow the incomplete, and because the two prayers are different, indeed they are different. And the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
The Imam is (appointed) to be followed. So do not differ from him
إنما جعل الإمام ليؤتم به فلا تختلفوا عليهThe questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : And some of the scholars said that it is permissible for one who is praying an obligatory prayer to pray behind one who is praying a voluntary prayer.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : And they cite as evidence for this what is established in the two Sahihs that Mu'adh ibn Jabal (may Allah be pleased with him) used to pray the Isha prayer with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), then he would return to his people and pray that prayer with them, which was a voluntary prayer for him and an obligatory prayer for them.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : And they say that this was done in the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and was not condemned. The claim that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) perhaps did not know about it is not valid, because we say it is unlikely that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) did not know about it, especially since Mu'adh was complained to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) about lengthening the prayer.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Then, even if the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) did not know about it, Allah the Exalted knew about it. If this had been an abominable matter, Allah the Exalted would have clarified it.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : For Allah the Exalted does not approve of an abominable matter. Therefore, Allah the Exalted exposes the hypocrites for what they concealed in their hearts, because it is an abominable matter. And the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) cited as evidence for the permissibility of 'azl (coitus interruptus), where a man interrupts intercourse with his wife, the fact that the Qur'an descends. The meaning of their evidence is that what the Qur'an approves of is permissible. So here we say that the action of Mu'adh is permissible by the approval of Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He, for it, and necessarily so.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : And there is no contradiction in this. And if the permissibility of one who is praying an obligatory prayer behind one who is praying a voluntary prayer is established by the approving Sunnah that Allah the Exalted approved of in the time of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), it indicates that the opinion of prohibition is a weak opinion. And on this basis, it is permissible for a man to pray the obligatory prayer behind one who is praying a voluntary prayer. Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal (may Allah have mercy on him) explicitly stated that if a person misses the Isha prayer and prays it behind one who is praying Tarawih, there is no harm in it. So we say that this action which some people do, as described by the questioner, is a permissible action. It is permissible for a man, if he arrives and has missed the Isha prayer and finds them praying Tarawih, to join them with the intention of Isha, and for every person is what he intends.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Then, when the imam says the taslim from the Tarawih, he completes what remains of his prayer, meaning the Isha prayer. If he caught the two rak'ahs of the Tarawih, he completes it with two rak'ahs. And if he caught one rak'ah of the Tarawih, he completes it with three rak'ahs.
The questioner : But he does not complete it with the imam.
The Shaykh : As for the opinion that this is a difference of intention and is not permissible, we say that a difference of intention does not have an effect. The evidence is that one who is praying a voluntary prayer behind one who is praying an obligatory prayer is permissible, even according to those who prohibit one who is praying an obligatory prayer behind one who is praying a voluntary prayer. They say if one prays a voluntary prayer behind one who is praying an obligatory prayer, meaning if a person prays a voluntary prayer behind one who is praying an obligatory prayer, there is no harm.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : And in any case, if they do that, there is no harm in it. What I hold back from is their waiting for the imam until he enters the second taslim and they complete the prayer with him. I hold back from this because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) says:
and pray whatever you get (with the people) and complete the rest which you have missed
فما أدركتم فصلوا وما فاتكم فأتمواThe questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner : Because his first prayer was cut off by the taslim.
The Shaykh : Yes, indeed.
The questioner : So how is it that this is cut off, for example, and he exits the prayer, while this one remains waiting for the imam?
The Shaykh : This is what I am telling you that we hold back from.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Therefore, it is not recommended that they do it. They should do it: when the imam says the taslim from the taslim that they caught up with him, they should complete their prayer individually, then pray with the imam.
The questioner : Yes.