What is your opinion of those who say that supplication in the Friday sermon is permissible due to the occurrence of calamities among the Muslims?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : A continuation of the answer, if you please.
The Shaykh: Yes.
The questioner : The questioner asks regarding supplication: What is your response to those who claim the permissibility of permanent supplication? Because in these days, as you see, there are calamities befalling the nation, as you see the state of the Ummah today?
The Shaykh : Look now at how ignorance of the Sunnah turns the Sunnah into religious innovation and religious innovation into the Sunnah. I want to say: the original ruling for supplication in response to calamities is qunut. Now, qunut for a calamity has been abandoned, while qunut in the Fajr prayer is preserved as if it were an obligatory Sunnah. Now, the question asks: What is your opinion of those who say that supplication on Friday is permissible for these calamities that have befallen the Muslims? I say: Do these supplications we hear today from these preachers relate to the specific type of calamity that has befallen the Muslims? The answer is: No.
So, this is intended to justify and legitimize what they do, claiming that this is supplication for a calamity. That is one thing. And a second thing I want to remind our brothers of is the intended meaning of a calamity. I will exaggerate with a distant example to make the close example understood. If someone said, "I have made it a habit to supplicate in the five daily prayers, not just Fajr, that our Lord (Mighty and Majestic) destroy the Christians who occupied Andalusia, and return Andalusia to the Muslims," the Muslims would reject this supplication, claiming that this is supplication or qunut for what? A calamity? My brother, this is not a calamity; this has become a disaster that settled in the lands of the Muslims and was resolved among the Muslims, so the issue became a thing of the past. A calamity is that which befalls the Muslims recently. But if it becomes a habit, you see—regrettably—that the new, very strong, and shameful calamity for the Muslims is the occupation of Palestine by the Jews. Do you find an imam who performs the legislated qunut and supplicates for Allah to help the Muslims against the Jews in Palestine in the qunut of the five daily prayers? You do not find this. So, if a temporary matter befalls the Muslims, that is what qunut is legislated for in the five daily prayers. But if this temporary matter becomes part of the life of the Muslims, it is not considered that qunut is legislated for it as a calamity.
Our mosque is close to here, meaning we pray in the mosque? Okay, so.
...
The questioner : Close, close.
The Shaykh : So, if you permit us, you allow us to leave. We bid you farewell; we will pray the obligatory 'Isha' prayer with you; because the time will be with us... the road, and if Allah wills, we will return to you another time.
The questioner : The obligatory Maghrib prayer, O Shaykh.
The Shaykh : Yes?
The questioner : The obligatory Maghrib prayer, not 'Isha'.
The Shaykh : Ha, my intention went to 'Isha'. Perhaps it was in our intention to stay with you for 'Isha', but...
Another questioner : ... .
The Shaykh : Yes?
The questioner : ... .
The Shaykh : Do you not want to catch the prayer with the congregation?
The questioner : If Allah wills, we will catch up.
The Shaykh: Yes.
The questioner : The questioner asks regarding supplication: What is your response to those who claim the permissibility of permanent supplication? Because in these days, as you see, there are calamities befalling the nation, as you see the state of the Ummah today?
The Shaykh : Look now at how ignorance of the Sunnah turns the Sunnah into religious innovation and religious innovation into the Sunnah. I want to say: the original ruling for supplication in response to calamities is qunut. Now, qunut for a calamity has been abandoned, while qunut in the Fajr prayer is preserved as if it were an obligatory Sunnah. Now, the question asks: What is your opinion of those who say that supplication on Friday is permissible for these calamities that have befallen the Muslims? I say: Do these supplications we hear today from these preachers relate to the specific type of calamity that has befallen the Muslims? The answer is: No.
So, this is intended to justify and legitimize what they do, claiming that this is supplication for a calamity. That is one thing. And a second thing I want to remind our brothers of is the intended meaning of a calamity. I will exaggerate with a distant example to make the close example understood. If someone said, "I have made it a habit to supplicate in the five daily prayers, not just Fajr, that our Lord (Mighty and Majestic) destroy the Christians who occupied Andalusia, and return Andalusia to the Muslims," the Muslims would reject this supplication, claiming that this is supplication or qunut for what? A calamity? My brother, this is not a calamity; this has become a disaster that settled in the lands of the Muslims and was resolved among the Muslims, so the issue became a thing of the past. A calamity is that which befalls the Muslims recently. But if it becomes a habit, you see—regrettably—that the new, very strong, and shameful calamity for the Muslims is the occupation of Palestine by the Jews. Do you find an imam who performs the legislated qunut and supplicates for Allah to help the Muslims against the Jews in Palestine in the qunut of the five daily prayers? You do not find this. So, if a temporary matter befalls the Muslims, that is what qunut is legislated for in the five daily prayers. But if this temporary matter becomes part of the life of the Muslims, it is not considered that qunut is legislated for it as a calamity.
Our mosque is close to here, meaning we pray in the mosque? Okay, so.
...
The questioner : Close, close.
The Shaykh : So, if you permit us, you allow us to leave. We bid you farewell; we will pray the obligatory 'Isha' prayer with you; because the time will be with us... the road, and if Allah wills, we will return to you another time.
The questioner : The obligatory Maghrib prayer, O Shaykh.
The Shaykh : Yes?
The questioner : The obligatory Maghrib prayer, not 'Isha'.
The Shaykh : Ha, my intention went to 'Isha'. Perhaps it was in our intention to stay with you for 'Isha', but...
Another questioner : ... .
The Shaykh : Yes?
The questioner : ... .
The Shaykh : Do you not want to catch the prayer with the congregation?
The questioner : If Allah wills, we will catch up.
Source
www.al-albany.com
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.