What is the ruling on the sutrah? And is it permissible to leave out the sutrah in order to please people?

The questioner : I would like to bring up, Shaykh, an issue where the imam intervenes. The issue of the sutrah in the mosque. In fact, when we led the people for a period of time, we placed a sutrah. Whether they were angry or pleased, we did not ask about them. So what did our Shaykh do but remove it at times, as if he did not see it as obligatory. I do not know, I mean. So the question is: if it is now to please people, is it permissible to remove the sutrah?

The Shaykh : And upon you be peace

The questioner : The question, Shaykh, is: is it permissible to leave out the sutrah in order to please people?

The Shaykh : This issue falls under the topic I referred to earlier, which is purification and education. It is not permissible to surprise people practically with something they do not know, but at the same time, it is not permissible to leave people while they are ignorant. We should apply the Sunnah in ourselves and prepare for it by educating people and calling them to follow the Book and the Sunnah. So, if we assume an imam is appointed for the first time in a certain mosque, he should find a way to pray facing a sutrah, not to erect a sutrah in front of him as they do in some mosques. He takes the small table for the mushaf and places it in front of him; there is no harm in that. But the wisdom in da'wah, as the Exalted said: So it is not befitting for this imam who was recently appointed in a certain mosque, where they have never heard of this sutrah, to surprise them with a sutrah that draws their attention before he draws their attention, sight, and scientific insight to the obligation of adopting a sutrah. But he prays, for example, near a pillar, prays facing the minbar, prays facing anything erected in front of him. But he does not remain silent while planning that after a week, two weeks, or three, he must tell them: "O people, you enter the mosque to pray the Sunnah before the prayer, for example. And as you see, everyone prays wherever it is convenient for them, in the back of the mosque, in the middle of the mosque, even though there is space to pray facing the qiblah wall, or a pillar from the pillars, or a table placed there. People do not do this, and the reason is ignorance, and the reason is the silence of the scholars. Not only in this country or in a mosque; this silence has spread to the whole land, we do not exclude any country, not even the two Holy Mosques. So people have become enemies of the Sunnah because of the silence of the scholars and their failure to call people to the Sunnah in the best manner. Until the situation reversed, and as came in some authentic athar, the Sunnah becomes an innovation and the innovation becomes a Sunnah. So this imam who is tasked to pray in a new mosque must apply this Sunnah without causing fitnah. But this does not mean he should remain silent and not teach people the Sunnah. He must, for example, on some occasion, when a man enters, say, for example, "This is the pillar, and he is praying here," and say to him, "My brother, there is a step between you and the pillar, so pray behind it. May Allah reward you." And he mentions whatever hadiths are available to him. He does this once with this person and once with that person, and so on. So there will be an opening among the people of the mosque to something they have not heard before, but they were not confronted with it. I placed the sutrah in front of me, I moved it from one place to another, I prayed behind the pillar, and no one says to the imam, "Why did you pray behind the pillar?" because it is a matter that the general public does not notice. But if I pulled the table from where it was, someone would say, "What are you worshipping the table? Why are you praying to it?" Is it not enough for one who wants to teach people to present them with dry speech? What does dry speech mean? "My brother, do not pray like this; pray facing a sutrah." No. This is not enough for them. He should say, "My brother, he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: In the other hadith: And he narrates to them what came in Sahih al-Bukhari and others from the hadith of Anas ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) that the people in the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), when the mu'adhdhin called for the Maghrib prayer, would rush to the pillars to pray the Maghrib Sunnah, meaning the pre-prayer Sunnah. They rushed to the pillars, applying his command (peace and blessings be upon him): In my opinion, if the imam continues to remind them, the result will be as the Lord of the Worlds said: There must be some objection, if not some quarreling, from those who are dominated by the traditions of the pre-Islamic age of ignorance, which is represented by the saying of the first people of ignorance: There will certainly be objection here. The da'iyah should not be harsh, nor should he be too soft, but he should be balanced between the two, as it is said: "Do not be harsh so that you break, and do not be soft so that you are trampled." So he is patient with the Sunnah in calling and in practice, even if he faces what he faces in that. As for leaving the practice of the Sunnah, or rather the obligatory, while remaining silent, not preparing people to carry this Sunnah, or rather that obligation, by the way of da'wah as we said: This is not befitting for an imam who leads the Muslims, no matter what the state of those praying is. This is the answer to what you asked.

The questioner : To tell the truth, Shaykh, I may be rough and harsh in placing the sutrah in front of me when I am the imam. But in return, we did not find the imam fulfilling his obligation of giving lessons and sermons and clarifying the ruling of the Shari'ah in these issues for the ma'mumin. And thus, we are now in this mosque, the large Na'ur Mosque, in a state of confusion?

The Shaykh : Why?

The questioner : Between the Na'ur Shirkas, who are Hanafi in name, and the Sufis known for their Sufism, and the Islamic movements and groups present. And the truth must be said, in such situations, we tried to lead people for the Fajr prayer, and last Friday... Since I am not obligated to lead the prayer and not obligated to perform the Fajr prayer in the mosque, and that means if we leave the imamate, a man from the people of innovation or from the people of misguidance will come and lead the people...