Some mosque imams, from the beginning of Ramadan, pray four rak'ahs first, then have someone else take their place.
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The questioner : Shaykh, regarding this, an imam of the mosques says that from the beginning of Ramadan, he leads the first four rak'ahs, then he brings someone else to lead the people in the next four, while he and some of the select young men with him get up at one or one and a half in the night to pray four rak'ahs and perform the witr. Is this action valid, meaning permissible, and should it be approved?
The Shaykh : ... .
The questioner : Does this mean that each person memorizes a portion of the Qur'an on the basis that he leads in that portion, or some of his brothers lead in a portion in the last part of the night?
The Shaykh : And why does he not delegate the first four rak'ahs, but instead divides them into two parts? Certainly, this is like what we used to do, something that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) did not do. However, it is possible for him to take a dispensation in maintaining the preferred way, which is what 'Umar ibn al-Khattab said when he gathered them behind Ubayy ibn Ka'b: "What a good innovation this is, and those who sleep from it are better off." So if he wants to enliven it in the last part of the night with some of the young men who love the Sunnah and its enlivening, he should delegate one person to pray with them after the 'Isha' prayer, and then he gets up to pray in the last part of the night with his group.
Another questioner : He prays eight rak'ahs.
The Shaykh : Yes, but I do not find a justification for dividing it into two parts.
The questioner : It was because perhaps he wanted to gather the fact that the imam gets up in a part of his duty, he wanted to gather in his view, meaning that as he is the imam of the mosque, he prays and they see that he prayed four rak'ahs in this congregation, he is present, meaning he is not absent from the prayer he is praying.
The Shaykh : The better thing than this is for the congregation to announce it; he gives them the choice: do you want to pray with us in the last part of the night, then that is fine, or we delegate one person to pray for you; what is the problem with that?
The Shaykh : ... .
The questioner : Does this mean that each person memorizes a portion of the Qur'an on the basis that he leads in that portion, or some of his brothers lead in a portion in the last part of the night?
The Shaykh : And why does he not delegate the first four rak'ahs, but instead divides them into two parts? Certainly, this is like what we used to do, something that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) did not do. However, it is possible for him to take a dispensation in maintaining the preferred way, which is what 'Umar ibn al-Khattab said when he gathered them behind Ubayy ibn Ka'b: "What a good innovation this is, and those who sleep from it are better off." So if he wants to enliven it in the last part of the night with some of the young men who love the Sunnah and its enlivening, he should delegate one person to pray with them after the 'Isha' prayer, and then he gets up to pray in the last part of the night with his group.
Another questioner : He prays eight rak'ahs.
The Shaykh : Yes, but I do not find a justification for dividing it into two parts.
The questioner : It was because perhaps he wanted to gather the fact that the imam gets up in a part of his duty, he wanted to gather in his view, meaning that as he is the imam of the mosque, he prays and they see that he prayed four rak'ahs in this congregation, he is present, meaning he is not absent from the prayer he is praying.
The Shaykh : The better thing than this is for the congregation to announce it; he gives them the choice: do you want to pray with us in the last part of the night, then that is fine, or we delegate one person to pray for you; what is the problem with that?
Source
www.al-albany.com
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.