If the imam recites a surah containing a prostration in a secret prayer, what does he do? And how does he notify those behind him that he has risen from his prostration?
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The questioner : Regarding the prostration of recitation in a secret prayer, what does the imam do?
The Shaykh : The matter is easy. If we remember that the prostration of recitation is not obligatory, and we keep in mind that the imam is in a secret prayer, if he prostrates, he will cause confusion for the worshippers. He is in no need of prostrating in this case, because it is not obligatory upon him. This is different from the case where the imam is praying with a group of people who are known for their scholarly alertness. When they see the imam prostrate, they prostrate with him without any commotion or confusion. In that case, there is no objection to his prostrating, because the prohibition we mentioned earlier is not present here.
The questioner : If he prostrates and then rises, how does he notify those behind him who are of sound mind and knowledge?
The Shaykh : What is the problem with that? The people behind the imam have a sense other than hearing; the rustle of rising will make the person behind him feel it completely. I once told you what happened to me on a Friday. I was staying in a village called Madiya. I went down to the mosque, and by chance the imam was not present. They saw me with a light beard, and instead of a student of knowledge, they said, "Please, pray." I stepped forward, knowing that I did not memorize Surat al-Sajdah well, so I did not want to expose myself to stammering. I left out Surat al-Sajdah and did not recite it. I started with Surat Maryam, and you know, it begins with "Kaf ha ya 'ayn sad." When I bowed, all the people prostrated, as is their custom before the bowing on Friday mornings. The point is, those behind me realized that I had bowed but not prostrated, and they rectified the situation. However, those behind the pulpit completed the congregation prostrating. When they heard me say, "Allah hears the one who praises Him," there was a lot of noise, shouting, and crying there. I completed the prayer and gave them a word of admonition. I said to them, "O people, by Allah, if this story happened in the lands of the non-Arabs, it would be condemned most severely. O people, do you not distinguish between 'Alif Lam Mim' and 'Kaf ha ya' and so on? But it appears that your minds are behind the cows, the crops, and the udders, and so on. So what is the problem, Professor, if he prostrates and rises without the takbir? Also, I see that the matter does not involve the restriction that some of our brothers think it does."
The questioner : And we asked more than one brother among the brothers, and they said: May Allah will it, we will askThe Shaykh : about it.
The Shaykh : I say that the takbir for the prostration of recitation, and in prayer, this has not come in the Sunnah, but it came from some of the Companions. Therefore, I do not see any harm, especially if he is an imam for the general public who only know it this way, as we found our fathers doing it. I do not see any harm at all in saying the takbir to ward off harm. Likewise, even though the matter differs regarding rising, I do not know that any of the Salaf used to say the takbir. But nevertheless, I say if the imam sees the benefit and the warding off of harm necessitates that he rise with the takbir, I do not see this as an obstacle, provided there is no adherence to it as a fixed practice. Yes, that is right.
The questioner : From this category comes the qunut.
The Shaykh : Yes, from this category comes the qunut. But the truth is that this matter involves excess and deficiency. The excess and deficiency is that many of the imams of the mosques, who are Salafis, I tell you, we want to cover for them, so I do the qunut. There is no objection, but on the condition that he focuses on the fact that, "O brothers, this qunut is not prescribed except in times of calamity." If he knows from one side and applies it as a concession to ward off harm from the mosque, there is no objection. But if he follows them without teaching them, it means he and the others are being hypocritical and not teaching them.
The Shaykh : The matter is easy. If we remember that the prostration of recitation is not obligatory, and we keep in mind that the imam is in a secret prayer, if he prostrates, he will cause confusion for the worshippers. He is in no need of prostrating in this case, because it is not obligatory upon him. This is different from the case where the imam is praying with a group of people who are known for their scholarly alertness. When they see the imam prostrate, they prostrate with him without any commotion or confusion. In that case, there is no objection to his prostrating, because the prohibition we mentioned earlier is not present here.
The questioner : If he prostrates and then rises, how does he notify those behind him who are of sound mind and knowledge?
The Shaykh : What is the problem with that? The people behind the imam have a sense other than hearing; the rustle of rising will make the person behind him feel it completely. I once told you what happened to me on a Friday. I was staying in a village called Madiya. I went down to the mosque, and by chance the imam was not present. They saw me with a light beard, and instead of a student of knowledge, they said, "Please, pray." I stepped forward, knowing that I did not memorize Surat al-Sajdah well, so I did not want to expose myself to stammering. I left out Surat al-Sajdah and did not recite it. I started with Surat Maryam, and you know, it begins with "Kaf ha ya 'ayn sad." When I bowed, all the people prostrated, as is their custom before the bowing on Friday mornings. The point is, those behind me realized that I had bowed but not prostrated, and they rectified the situation. However, those behind the pulpit completed the congregation prostrating. When they heard me say, "Allah hears the one who praises Him," there was a lot of noise, shouting, and crying there. I completed the prayer and gave them a word of admonition. I said to them, "O people, by Allah, if this story happened in the lands of the non-Arabs, it would be condemned most severely. O people, do you not distinguish between 'Alif Lam Mim' and 'Kaf ha ya' and so on? But it appears that your minds are behind the cows, the crops, and the udders, and so on. So what is the problem, Professor, if he prostrates and rises without the takbir? Also, I see that the matter does not involve the restriction that some of our brothers think it does."
The questioner : And we asked more than one brother among the brothers, and they said: May Allah will it, we will askThe Shaykh : about it.
The Shaykh : I say that the takbir for the prostration of recitation, and in prayer, this has not come in the Sunnah, but it came from some of the Companions. Therefore, I do not see any harm, especially if he is an imam for the general public who only know it this way, as we found our fathers doing it. I do not see any harm at all in saying the takbir to ward off harm. Likewise, even though the matter differs regarding rising, I do not know that any of the Salaf used to say the takbir. But nevertheless, I say if the imam sees the benefit and the warding off of harm necessitates that he rise with the takbir, I do not see this as an obstacle, provided there is no adherence to it as a fixed practice. Yes, that is right.
The questioner : From this category comes the qunut.
The Shaykh : Yes, from this category comes the qunut. But the truth is that this matter involves excess and deficiency. The excess and deficiency is that many of the imams of the mosques, who are Salafis, I tell you, we want to cover for them, so I do the qunut. There is no objection, but on the condition that he focuses on the fact that, "O brothers, this qunut is not prescribed except in times of calamity." If he knows from one side and applies it as a concession to ward off harm from the mosque, there is no objection. But if he follows them without teaching them, it means he and the others are being hypocritical and not teaching them.
Source
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The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.