What is the ruling on placing the mushaf in front of the imam so that he does not make a mistake in the recitation?
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The Shaykh : What do you say? I do not know, by Allah.
The student : It is closed upon him.
The Shaykh : It is closed upon him, it is closed upon him. He stammers, he takes and gives as happens with people, because he is a human being by the text of the Noble Qur'an. After he finished praying, he said: Is there not among you Ubayy? He said: Yes, O Messenger of Allah. He said: فما مَنَعَك أن تفتح عليَّ ؟ What prevented you from opening it for me?Sahih Ibn Hibban 10:530 From here comes the legitimacy and the Sunnah of opening the Qur'an for the imam by the one who is behind the imam. So every person makes a mistake and every person forgets. What is this?
The student : The Shaykh is calling the adhan.
The Shaykh : What Allah willed, every person forgets. Therefore He, the Exalted, said: سَنُقْرِئُكَ فَلَا تَنْسَى * إِلَّا مَا شَاءَ اللَّهُ (6) We will make you recite, [O Muhammad], and you will not forget, (7) Except what Allah should will.[Al-A'la 87:6-7] So the means of fearing that the imam will make a mistake by placing the mushaf open with its pages in front of the imam is not for two reasons. The first reason is that this opening or this means is an unlegitimate means, rather it is an innovative means that our righteous Salaf did not know. This is the first reason.
The other reason is that this means contradicts a noble Prophetic method and guidance. And if a means contradicts a Prophetic guidance or a Prophetic method, then it is undoubtedly of the category of his saying, peace and blessings be upon him: مَن أحدَثَ في أمرنا هذا ما ليس منه فهو رَدٌّ 'A'isha reported Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) as saying: He who innovates things in our affairs for which there is no valid (reason) (commits sin) and these are to be rejected.Sahih Muslim 1718a If we know that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, sometimes made a mistake, and that he encouraged Ubayy to have opened the Qur'an for him when he forgot, then the meaning of that is that خير الهدى هدى محمد - صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم - ، وشر الأمور محدثاتها ، وكل محدثة بدعة ضلالة ، وكل ضلالة في النار The best of guidance is the guidance of Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, and the worst of matters are their innovations, and every innovation is a misguidance, and every misguidance is in the Fire..
The second reason: Our adopting this means contradicts a noble Prophetic guidance, which is his saying, peace and blessings be upon him: تعاهدوا هذا القرآن وتغنَّوا به ، فوالذي نفس محمد بيده ؛ إنه أشد تفلُّتًا من صدور الرجال من الإبل من عقلها Review this Qur'an and sing with it, for by Him in whose hand is the soul of Muhammad, it is more likely to slip away from the chests of men than camels from their ropes. The meaning of تعاهدوا هذا القرآن Review this Qur'an is: Take care of its preservation and continue its study. If you do not do that, it will slip away and come out of your chests as camels slip away from their ropes from their tethering posts. And it is known to the people of camels that camels have ferocity in their nature. Therefore, the Arabs used to strike a parable with them and say in old times: "So-and-so is more resentful than a camel." So from his resentment and narrowness of chest, he cuts his tether and strays like the straying of a camel, and the parable is struck with him. So the Messenger, peace and blessings be upon him, orders the preservers of the Qur'an to keep reviewing the Qur'an through study, memorization, and recitation, otherwise, if they do not do so, the Qur'an will slip from their chests as camels slip from their ropes. And we see today a phenomenon in many mosques, even in the Sacred Mosque and the Prophet's Mosque, regarding some imams and not all of them, that they place a mushaf on a platform, a high table, or one of them—and I witnessed this myself in Ta'if—takes a mushaf that is not small in size, a bit larger, and places it under his armpit. Glory be to Allah, he bows, he cannot lean to the side. He is in the middle of the recitation, he read, he finished the recitation, he wants to bow, he puts it under his armpit, he bows and prostrates as some jurists say, like a woman, folded together like that, because if he spreads out, the Noble Mushaf will fall. He stands for the second rak'ah, opens the mushaf, and reads from it. I saw this and others saw it.
The student : It is closed upon him.
The Shaykh : It is closed upon him, it is closed upon him. He stammers, he takes and gives as happens with people, because he is a human being by the text of the Noble Qur'an. After he finished praying, he said: Is there not among you Ubayy? He said: Yes, O Messenger of Allah. He said: فما مَنَعَك أن تفتح عليَّ ؟ What prevented you from opening it for me?Sahih Ibn Hibban 10:530 From here comes the legitimacy and the Sunnah of opening the Qur'an for the imam by the one who is behind the imam. So every person makes a mistake and every person forgets. What is this?
The student : The Shaykh is calling the adhan.
The Shaykh : What Allah willed, every person forgets. Therefore He, the Exalted, said: سَنُقْرِئُكَ فَلَا تَنْسَى * إِلَّا مَا شَاءَ اللَّهُ (6) We will make you recite, [O Muhammad], and you will not forget, (7) Except what Allah should will.[Al-A'la 87:6-7] So the means of fearing that the imam will make a mistake by placing the mushaf open with its pages in front of the imam is not for two reasons. The first reason is that this opening or this means is an unlegitimate means, rather it is an innovative means that our righteous Salaf did not know. This is the first reason.
The other reason is that this means contradicts a noble Prophetic method and guidance. And if a means contradicts a Prophetic guidance or a Prophetic method, then it is undoubtedly of the category of his saying, peace and blessings be upon him: مَن أحدَثَ في أمرنا هذا ما ليس منه فهو رَدٌّ 'A'isha reported Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) as saying: He who innovates things in our affairs for which there is no valid (reason) (commits sin) and these are to be rejected.Sahih Muslim 1718a If we know that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, sometimes made a mistake, and that he encouraged Ubayy to have opened the Qur'an for him when he forgot, then the meaning of that is that خير الهدى هدى محمد - صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم - ، وشر الأمور محدثاتها ، وكل محدثة بدعة ضلالة ، وكل ضلالة في النار The best of guidance is the guidance of Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, and the worst of matters are their innovations, and every innovation is a misguidance, and every misguidance is in the Fire..
The second reason: Our adopting this means contradicts a noble Prophetic guidance, which is his saying, peace and blessings be upon him: تعاهدوا هذا القرآن وتغنَّوا به ، فوالذي نفس محمد بيده ؛ إنه أشد تفلُّتًا من صدور الرجال من الإبل من عقلها Review this Qur'an and sing with it, for by Him in whose hand is the soul of Muhammad, it is more likely to slip away from the chests of men than camels from their ropes. The meaning of تعاهدوا هذا القرآن Review this Qur'an is: Take care of its preservation and continue its study. If you do not do that, it will slip away and come out of your chests as camels slip away from their ropes from their tethering posts. And it is known to the people of camels that camels have ferocity in their nature. Therefore, the Arabs used to strike a parable with them and say in old times: "So-and-so is more resentful than a camel." So from his resentment and narrowness of chest, he cuts his tether and strays like the straying of a camel, and the parable is struck with him. So the Messenger, peace and blessings be upon him, orders the preservers of the Qur'an to keep reviewing the Qur'an through study, memorization, and recitation, otherwise, if they do not do so, the Qur'an will slip from their chests as camels slip from their ropes. And we see today a phenomenon in many mosques, even in the Sacred Mosque and the Prophet's Mosque, regarding some imams and not all of them, that they place a mushaf on a platform, a high table, or one of them—and I witnessed this myself in Ta'if—takes a mushaf that is not small in size, a bit larger, and places it under his armpit. Glory be to Allah, he bows, he cannot lean to the side. He is in the middle of the recitation, he read, he finished the recitation, he wants to bow, he puts it under his armpit, he bows and prostrates as some jurists say, like a woman, folded together like that, because if he spreads out, the Noble Mushaf will fall. He stands for the second rak'ah, opens the mushaf, and reads from it. I saw this and others saw it.
Source
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