What is the ruling on praying behind an innovator? What is the ruling on the second congregational prayer after this innovator has finished?
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The questioner: Peace be upon you.
The Shaykh: And upon you peace.
The questioner: His EminenceThe Shaykh : Nasser is present.
The Shaykh: PresentThe Shaykh : The elderly old man.
The questioner: Present, may Allah reward you, O Shaykh.
The Shaykh : And beware of that.
The questioner: May we ask you some questions, O Shaykh?
The Shaykh : Yes, you may.
The questioner: ... We are here; we called you yesterday and did not find you, and we gave the brother al-Khatib some idea about the topic.
The Shaykh: Yes.
The questioner: And he asked us to call you today, so we are here in San, Texas, in the state of America, and we have a mosque, and the mosque has an imam.
The Shaykh: I understand this issue, listen to the answer.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh: Any imam who leads the Muslims in any place, whether it is a mosque, a prayer hall, a house, or any other place, as long as the worshippers who pray behind him consider him a Muslim, their prayer behind him is valid, regardless of their opinion of him, whether in terms of creed or in terms of behavior and action.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh: So as long as his deviation from those who pray behind him in creed or in behavior does not lead them to believe in his disbelief and his exit from the circle of Islam, their prayer behind him is valid, by his saying (peace and blessings be upon him) regarding the imams: , this is a hadith in Sahih al-Bukhari, what does the hadith say? meaning the imams But in addition to this, we advise the followers who suspect something of deviation in their imam in creed or in behavior to try to replace him with someone better than him if that is within their capability, otherwise Allah does not burden a soul except with what it can bear. So your imam, either it is within your reach and your ability to remove him from the imamate and bring someone better than him, in which case it is obligatory upon you, or if it is the other case, then at that time your prayer behind him is valid as I informed you, and this legal ruling allows Muslims to come closer to each other despite their differences, and not to cross paths, and not to turn their backs on each other.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : Is the answer clear to you?
The questioner: It is clear.
The Shaykh : What else do you have?
The questioner: Yes, it is not permissible for us to pray after finishing the prayer alone, is it permissible?
The Shaykh: If the congregation is in the mosque and not outside the mosque, and the mosque has a regular imam and a regular muezzin who gathers the Muslims. Yes.
The questioner: There is a regular imam, meaning there is no regular muezzin.
The Shaykh: There is a regular imam and no regular muezzin, and we do not imagine this except in the lands of disbelief in which you live.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh: And therefore you must emigrate from it, but the legal ruling is that repeating the congregation in a mosque that has a regular muezzin and a regular imam who gathers the Muslims, here it is not permissible to split this congregation with a second or third or other congregation, but if the two conditions or one of them is lacking as I mentioned, then at that time fleeing from those lands is the obligation.
The questioner: May Allah reward you with good.
The Shaykh : And beware of that.
The questioner: His EminenceThe Shaykh : In this case, is it permissible to establish the congregation at home and not in the mosque, for example three or four brothers praying at home?
The Shaykh: What case do you mean?
The questioner: I did not understand, O Shaykh?
The Shaykh: What case do you mean, you say in this case?
The questioner: Yes, in the case of, meaning that this imam exists in these circumstances with these characteristics, such as lying and others, so we, for example, in a basic state, we are not innovators, we do not establish the congregation in the mosque, but for example we establish it at home, we are three or four brothers or a number of brothers, we establish it at home and we do not pray behind him, and we pray as a congregation at home for ourselves, is it permissible or not permissible?
The Shaykh: Why do you not pray behind him?
The questioner: Meaning, is the prayer behind him permissible even if he has these characteristics?
The Shaykh: By Allah, what did I speak about?
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh: And upon you peace.
The questioner: His EminenceThe Shaykh : Nasser is present.
The Shaykh: PresentThe Shaykh : The elderly old man.
The questioner: Present, may Allah reward you, O Shaykh.
The Shaykh : And beware of that.
The questioner: May we ask you some questions, O Shaykh?
The Shaykh : Yes, you may.
The questioner: ... We are here; we called you yesterday and did not find you, and we gave the brother al-Khatib some idea about the topic.
The Shaykh: Yes.
The questioner: And he asked us to call you today, so we are here in San, Texas, in the state of America, and we have a mosque, and the mosque has an imam.
The Shaykh: I understand this issue, listen to the answer.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh: Any imam who leads the Muslims in any place, whether it is a mosque, a prayer hall, a house, or any other place, as long as the worshippers who pray behind him consider him a Muslim, their prayer behind him is valid, regardless of their opinion of him, whether in terms of creed or in terms of behavior and action.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh: So as long as his deviation from those who pray behind him in creed or in behavior does not lead them to believe in his disbelief and his exit from the circle of Islam, their prayer behind him is valid, by his saying (peace and blessings be upon him) regarding the imams:
They lead you in prayer, so if they are correct, the reward is for you and for them, and if they make a mistake, the reward is for you and the sin is upon them.
يصلون بكم فإن أصابوا فلكم ولهم و إن أخطؤوا فلكم و عليهمThey lead you in prayer
يصلون بكمIf they are correct, the reward is for you and for them, and if they make a mistake, the reward is for you and the sin is upon them.
إن أصابوا فلكم ولهم وإن أخطئوا فلكم وعليهمThe questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : Is the answer clear to you?
The questioner: It is clear.
The Shaykh : What else do you have?
The questioner: Yes, it is not permissible for us to pray after finishing the prayer alone, is it permissible?
The Shaykh: If the congregation is in the mosque and not outside the mosque, and the mosque has a regular imam and a regular muezzin who gathers the Muslims. Yes.
The questioner: There is a regular imam, meaning there is no regular muezzin.
The Shaykh: There is a regular imam and no regular muezzin, and we do not imagine this except in the lands of disbelief in which you live.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh: And therefore you must emigrate from it, but the legal ruling is that repeating the congregation in a mosque that has a regular muezzin and a regular imam who gathers the Muslims, here it is not permissible to split this congregation with a second or third or other congregation, but if the two conditions or one of them is lacking as I mentioned, then at that time fleeing from those lands is the obligation.
The questioner: May Allah reward you with good.
The Shaykh : And beware of that.
The questioner: His EminenceThe Shaykh : In this case, is it permissible to establish the congregation at home and not in the mosque, for example three or four brothers praying at home?
The Shaykh: What case do you mean?
The questioner: I did not understand, O Shaykh?
The Shaykh: What case do you mean, you say in this case?
The questioner: Yes, in the case of, meaning that this imam exists in these circumstances with these characteristics, such as lying and others, so we, for example, in a basic state, we are not innovators, we do not establish the congregation in the mosque, but for example we establish it at home, we are three or four brothers or a number of brothers, we establish it at home and we do not pray behind him, and we pray as a congregation at home for ourselves, is it permissible or not permissible?
The Shaykh: Why do you not pray behind him?
The questioner: Meaning, is the prayer behind him permissible even if he has these characteristics?
The Shaykh: By Allah, what did I speak about?
The questioner: Yes.
Source
www.al-albany.com
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.