What is the criterion for distinguishing between an obligatory act and a pillar? And if one intentionally leaves an obligatory act, is his prayer invalid, such as the Ibrahimiyyah prayer or the first tashahhud, as al-Ajuri mentioned?
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The Shaykh : Yes, please.
The questioner : Praise be to Allah, and may peace and blessings be upon His Prophet and Messenger, and upon all his Companions.
First, we have come from Kuwait, and we ask Allah (Mighty and Majestic) to let us die upon the correct madhhab, and to make us among those He guides to righteousness.
The Shaykh : O Allah, amen.
The questioner : The first question: A discussion took place among the brothers regarding the regulation of matters, or the regulation of some matters related to prayer, between what is obligatory and what is a pillar.
The Shaykh : Between what is obligatory and a pillar?
The questioner : And a pillar.
The Shaykh : Between what is fard and a pillar, I mean, yes.
The questioner : In some matters, I mentioned them in the description of the Prophet's (peace and blessings be upon him) prayer, including the prayer upon the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). I said in the footnote that al-Ajuri in the Shari'ah mentioned that whoever does not pray upon the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), his prayer is invalid, or he has no prayer? Also, from some of the obligatory matters in prayer, such as the first tashahhud and others. The question is: does the one who intentionally leaves these matters have his prayer invalidated or not, and what is the correct criterion?
The Shaykh : You mean, of course, by matters, two matters you mentioned, no more than that: the first is the prayer upon the Messenger (peace be upon him), and the second is the tashahhud, likewise?
The questioner : No, it is about obligatory matters related to prayer.
The Shaykh : I mean other matters.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Well, an obligatory act is established simply by the command of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) regarding something, provided there is no factor that shifts the obligation to something lower, such as a recommended practice (sunnah) or a recommended act (mandub). As for a pillar, which necessitates the invalidation of what the Muslim was commanded to do, it is not established simply by the command. Therefore, the tashahhud and the prayer upon the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) are among the obligatory acts, not among the pillars, the leaving of which necessitates the invalidation of the whole, which here is the prayer. As for what you mentioned about al-Ajuri, this is, of course, a statement for which the one who says it bears responsibility, and we transmitted it to support that the command is not for recommendation, as many who say in the chapter of sujud al-sahw that sujud al-sahw is recommended for leaving a sunnah, with the evidence that the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) prostrated for forgetting the first tashahhud, hold. We say this forgetting was not for a sunnah, but for an obligatory matter, even though we do not contradict the principle; rather, we are discussing the evidence. They use the prostration of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) for leaving the tashahhud in forgetfulness as evidence for the legitimacy of prostration for forgetfulness, but the tashahhud is obligatory, not a sunnah. So they must have evidence other than this evidence, and for us, it is his (peace and blessings be upon him) saying: regardless of the ruling of the one who established the Shari'ah obligation of sujud al-sahw. This is what I have as an answer to your previous question. If there is still something in your mind that you want to ask about regarding this, state it so that we may be aware of it.
The questioner : The question in my mind is the point of the speech, or give us the point of the speech, meaning do you support what you wrote in the description, or did you transmit it as a transmission?
The Shaykh : The answer to this has already been given.
The questioner : I mean, for further clarification.
The Shaykh : Ah, for further clarification. No, we do not adopt this. We said that this and this is obligatory, meaning the prayer upon the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) is obligatory, and the tashahhud is obligatory. We said this explicitly. And we also said explicitly that we mention this phrase to block the path for those who interpret commands as being for recommendation or desirability.
The questioner : Someone might say at this phrase that if the Shaykh had adopted a view contrary to al-Ajuri's, he would have pointed out his error in this issue.
The Shaykh : No, that is not a condition.
The questioner : It is not necessary?
The Shaykh : This is a matter that does not end. Often, a transmitter transmits from some scholars and then proceeds with it, because the important thing is to establish his view only, which is that the command is for obligation, and that is all.
The questioner : And therefore, we cannot say that the Shaykh explicitly stated the invalidity of the prayer of one who leaves it?
The Shaykh : Absolutely not, and this meaning does not occur to my mind at all.
The questioner : May Allah reward you with good.
The Shaykh : Yes, exactly.
The questioner : Praise be to Allah, and may peace and blessings be upon His Prophet and Messenger, and upon all his Companions.
First, we have come from Kuwait, and we ask Allah (Mighty and Majestic) to let us die upon the correct madhhab, and to make us among those He guides to righteousness.
The Shaykh : O Allah, amen.
The questioner : The first question: A discussion took place among the brothers regarding the regulation of matters, or the regulation of some matters related to prayer, between what is obligatory and what is a pillar.
The Shaykh : Between what is obligatory and a pillar?
The questioner : And a pillar.
The Shaykh : Between what is fard and a pillar, I mean, yes.
The questioner : In some matters, I mentioned them in the description of the Prophet's (peace and blessings be upon him) prayer, including the prayer upon the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). I said in the footnote that al-Ajuri in the Shari'ah mentioned that whoever does not pray upon the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), his prayer is invalid, or he has no prayer? Also, from some of the obligatory matters in prayer, such as the first tashahhud and others. The question is: does the one who intentionally leaves these matters have his prayer invalidated or not, and what is the correct criterion?
The Shaykh : You mean, of course, by matters, two matters you mentioned, no more than that: the first is the prayer upon the Messenger (peace be upon him), and the second is the tashahhud, likewise?
The questioner : No, it is about obligatory matters related to prayer.
The Shaykh : I mean other matters.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Well, an obligatory act is established simply by the command of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) regarding something, provided there is no factor that shifts the obligation to something lower, such as a recommended practice (sunnah) or a recommended act (mandub). As for a pillar, which necessitates the invalidation of what the Muslim was commanded to do, it is not established simply by the command. Therefore, the tashahhud and the prayer upon the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) are among the obligatory acts, not among the pillars, the leaving of which necessitates the invalidation of the whole, which here is the prayer. As for what you mentioned about al-Ajuri, this is, of course, a statement for which the one who says it bears responsibility, and we transmitted it to support that the command is not for recommendation, as many who say in the chapter of sujud al-sahw that sujud al-sahw is recommended for leaving a sunnah, with the evidence that the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) prostrated for forgetting the first tashahhud, hold. We say this forgetting was not for a sunnah, but for an obligatory matter, even though we do not contradict the principle; rather, we are discussing the evidence. They use the prostration of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) for leaving the tashahhud in forgetfulness as evidence for the legitimacy of prostration for forgetfulness, but the tashahhud is obligatory, not a sunnah. So they must have evidence other than this evidence, and for us, it is his (peace and blessings be upon him) saying:
For every forgetfulness, there are two prostrations
لكل سهو سجدتانThe questioner : The question in my mind is the point of the speech, or give us the point of the speech, meaning do you support what you wrote in the description, or did you transmit it as a transmission?
The Shaykh : The answer to this has already been given.
The questioner : I mean, for further clarification.
The Shaykh : Ah, for further clarification. No, we do not adopt this. We said that this and this is obligatory, meaning the prayer upon the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) is obligatory, and the tashahhud is obligatory. We said this explicitly. And we also said explicitly that we mention this phrase to block the path for those who interpret commands as being for recommendation or desirability.
The questioner : Someone might say at this phrase that if the Shaykh had adopted a view contrary to al-Ajuri's, he would have pointed out his error in this issue.
The Shaykh : No, that is not a condition.
The questioner : It is not necessary?
The Shaykh : This is a matter that does not end. Often, a transmitter transmits from some scholars and then proceeds with it, because the important thing is to establish his view only, which is that the command is for obligation, and that is all.
The questioner : And therefore, we cannot say that the Shaykh explicitly stated the invalidity of the prayer of one who leaves it?
The Shaykh : Absolutely not, and this meaning does not occur to my mind at all.
The questioner : May Allah reward you with good.
The Shaykh : Yes, exactly.