A traveler who was asked by the people to lead them in prayer, but he completed the prayer without shortening it out of fear of causing harm among the people, as they are from the common folk. Is
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The questioner: A man knows that shortening the prayer in congregation is obligatory.
The Shaykh: That.
The questioner: Shortening the prayer in congregation while traveling is obligatory. So he entered a mosque and the worshippers wanted this man to lead them in the 'Asr prayer. He looked at them and saw that they were mostly from the common folk, and he feared that if he applied this Sunnah, there would be harm. So they insisted that he lead them as imam, so he prayed four rak'ahs. Is his prayer, first of all, invalid? First of all, is he sinful? And the question is: is his prayer invalid?
The Shaykh : You have done well.
The questioner: And the third question: Is it permissible for him to pray, meaning a voluntary prayer, and then pray two rak'ahs after he says the taslim? May Allah reward you with good?
The Shaykh: First of all, what is the prayer?
The questioner: The 'Asr prayer.
The Shaykh: The 'Asr prayer.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh: The answer is that he is sinful if he prays the full prayer, and we cannot rule that his prayer is invalid, because many of the righteous Salaf held that it is permissible. But I see that he should have done what the questioner in front of you did more than once: First, he should have excused himself out of fear of the commotion and confusion you mentioned in your question. If they insisted, he should have given them a lecture explaining that the obligatory Sunnah to follow is shortening, and that completing the prayer while traveling is like shortening it while resident. And based on what he knows of this Sunnah, he will pray two rak'ahs with them. And at the end of the prayer, when he exits the prayer by saying the taslim, he should say the taslim secretly in his heart and not let them hear his taslim, out of fear that their habit will prevail and they will say the taslim with him. At that time, he will say to them in a loud voice:Muwatta Malik 9:22 as the authentic report from 'Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) states, when he was leading the people in Mecca as Caliph, he would pray two rak'ahs with them and say to them: Muwatta Malik 9:22 After this introduction, if they are satisfied with his imamate and then they create a problem for him, then the fault is on them, and he will have presented his excuse to them. And if the situation proceeds, that is what we desire. As for the remaining answer to the third question: Is it permissible for him to perform voluntary prayers? We say: It is permissible for him to perform voluntary prayers as long as the time is one in which voluntary prayers are permissible. But I see that it is better for him to teach the people the Sunnah first in words, as I explained, and then in action, as I did. And with that, the answer to the question is complete.
The questioner : ... .
The Shaykh: Go ahead.
The Shaykh: That.
The questioner: Shortening the prayer in congregation while traveling is obligatory. So he entered a mosque and the worshippers wanted this man to lead them in the 'Asr prayer. He looked at them and saw that they were mostly from the common folk, and he feared that if he applied this Sunnah, there would be harm. So they insisted that he lead them as imam, so he prayed four rak'ahs. Is his prayer, first of all, invalid? First of all, is he sinful? And the question is: is his prayer invalid?
The Shaykh : You have done well.
The questioner: And the third question: Is it permissible for him to pray, meaning a voluntary prayer, and then pray two rak'ahs after he says the taslim? May Allah reward you with good?
The Shaykh: First of all, what is the prayer?
The questioner: The 'Asr prayer.
The Shaykh: The 'Asr prayer.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh: The answer is that he is sinful if he prays the full prayer, and we cannot rule that his prayer is invalid, because many of the righteous Salaf held that it is permissible. But I see that he should have done what the questioner in front of you did more than once: First, he should have excused himself out of fear of the commotion and confusion you mentioned in your question. If they insisted, he should have given them a lecture explaining that the obligatory Sunnah to follow is shortening, and that completing the prayer while traveling is like shortening it while resident. And based on what he knows of this Sunnah, he will pray two rak'ahs with them. And at the end of the prayer, when he exits the prayer by saying the taslim, he should say the taslim secretly in his heart and not let them hear his taslim, out of fear that their habit will prevail and they will say the taslim with him. At that time, he will say to them in a loud voice:
complete the prayer, we are a group travelling.
أتمُّوا صلاتكم ؛ فإنَّا قوم سَفْرcomplete the prayer, we are a group travelling.
أتمُّوا صلاتكم ؛ فإنَّا قوم سَفْرThe questioner : ... .
The Shaykh: Go ahead.
Source
www.al-albany.com
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