If the Imam Makes a Mistake in His Prayer?
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The Shaykh : As for what follows: The best of speech is the speech of Allah, and the best of guidance is the guidance of Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), and the worst of matters are their innovations, every innovation is a religious innovation, every religious innovation is misguidance, and every misguidance is in the Fire...
As for whether the prayer is invalidated by this? The answer is: No. First, the ruling on the prayer has no connection to this. Second, the one who errs, who is this preacher who urges people to do actions while they are obligated to listen and remain silent, has no connection to it. So if the preacher makes a mistake, what about the one praying? We look at his prayer. If his prayer is valid, then the prayer is valid. Otherwise, the schools of jurisprudence differ here: some say that the prayer of the follower is invalidated by the invalidation of the imam's prayer, so the follower's prayer is invalid. And some, like us, say that the follower's prayer is valid, and the burden of the invalidation of the imam's prayer is upon himself, whether he did it intentionally or by mistake. Because the Messenger (peace be upon him) said:Riyad as-Salihin 1838.
And the last sentence asks: What is the ruling for one who attends the sermon in a mosque of this nature?
We say: Without a doubt, if there is a mosque in which such a major sin is not found, and it is easy for the Muslim to seek out that mosque, then that is obligatory. It is established from Ibn 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) that he entered a mosque one day and heard a man calling out after the call to prayer, as they do in some mosques to this day, saying "Prayer, prayer, O you who pray, prayer." So he said to his companion, "Let us go out, for this is a mosque in which there is a religious innovation." If Ibn 'Umar had seen our mosques today, he would not have prayed in any of them at all. But is this correct? The answer is: It is not correct. It is only correct to choose the mosque that has less religious innovation than the others. As for seeking out a mosque that has no religious innovation, and whose imam is upon the Sunnah, and whose prayer and sermon are correct, that is seeking for something that does not exist, unfortunately!!
This concludes the question.
As for whether the prayer is invalidated by this? The answer is: No. First, the ruling on the prayer has no connection to this. Second, the one who errs, who is this preacher who urges people to do actions while they are obligated to listen and remain silent, has no connection to it. So if the preacher makes a mistake, what about the one praying? We look at his prayer. If his prayer is valid, then the prayer is valid. Otherwise, the schools of jurisprudence differ here: some say that the prayer of the follower is invalidated by the invalidation of the imam's prayer, so the follower's prayer is invalid. And some, like us, say that the follower's prayer is valid, and the burden of the invalidation of the imam's prayer is upon himself, whether he did it intentionally or by mistake. Because the Messenger (peace be upon him) said:
Your leaders will lead you in Salat (prayer). If they conduct it properly, you and they will be rewarded; but if they make mistakes you will earn the reward and they will be held responsible (for the mistakes).
يصلون بكم فإن أصابوا فلكم ولهم ، وإن أخطؤوا فلكم وعليهمAnd the last sentence asks: What is the ruling for one who attends the sermon in a mosque of this nature?
We say: Without a doubt, if there is a mosque in which such a major sin is not found, and it is easy for the Muslim to seek out that mosque, then that is obligatory. It is established from Ibn 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) that he entered a mosque one day and heard a man calling out after the call to prayer, as they do in some mosques to this day, saying "Prayer, prayer, O you who pray, prayer." So he said to his companion, "Let us go out, for this is a mosque in which there is a religious innovation." If Ibn 'Umar had seen our mosques today, he would not have prayed in any of them at all. But is this correct? The answer is: It is not correct. It is only correct to choose the mosque that has less religious innovation than the others. As for seeking out a mosque that has no religious innovation, and whose imam is upon the Sunnah, and whose prayer and sermon are correct, that is seeking for something that does not exist, unfortunately!!
This concludes the question.
Source
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