It is reported that you say it is obligatory to follow the imam in prayer, even if it is in a sunnah of the sunnahs of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), in everything he does.
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The questioner : ... regarding your statement on the obligation of following the imam, even if he leaves a sunnah of the sunnahs of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). There are some issues that arise regarding this statement of yours, the most important of which is that this opinion causes great hardship. This is because it requires all the worshippers to monitor how the imam prays so that they can follow him; otherwise, your statement on the obligation of following the imam in the detail attributed to you would have no meaning. And as ... the Shaykh (may Allah preserve him) said, imams differ in their prayers according to their differences in schools of jurisprudence, and obliging the worshippers with this ruling requires them to observe the manner of the imam's prayer. And as you know, hardship is lifted from ... the Muslim community, and because this is a matter that affects everyone. Furthermore, none of the preceding imams or the precise scholars have said this; rather, the books of Islamic jurisprudence are almost devoid of this issue. So we ask the honorable Shaykh to answer the aforementioned issues with some detail, because the occasion warrants it, and may Allah guide you and keep your steps straight?
The Shaykh : The question is not valid in its original form for me, because it is my opinion and then an error. I did not say, and I will not say, even in a dream, that it is obligatory for me, or that I say this opinion or part of it, that we should monitor the imams. I do not say this.
The questioner : He does not say that this is your opinion, but he says this commentator is commenting on your opinion?
The Shaykh : No, the issue is based on this understanding.
The questioner : Well, of course, that is correct, meaning... but the text of the question is not like this?The Shaykh : The question is like this, we heard the recording, ... this statement of yours that you quoted does not necessitate that hardship ... because every worshipper who prays in a mosque is in one of two states: either he knows this imam, for example, whether he places his hands on the navel or below the navel, or he knows nothing of that. If he knows, he follows what the imam does to realize the principle ofSahih al-Bukhari 722. This is not my opinion or my view, but it is the text of the Messenger (peace be upon him). And if he does not know, he acts according to the sunnah that he knows. So what is the issue here and what is the order? This is one thing. The second thing is in the first scenario: he entered the mosque knowing that the imam, for example, places his hand below the navel. He knows this, but he forgot, and his habit of following the sunnah and the prayer of the people of the Sunnah overcame him, so he prays like this. But if he remembers, he returns and follows the text commanding the following of the imam and not differing from him. So there is no hardship in the matter that can be agreed upon, contrary to the original principle for which explicit texts and commands have come in the authentic hadiths, some of which I mentioned earlier. So there is no compulsion, but rather the issue should be examined as a rule: is it correct in terms of its evidence? Or is it on the brink of a collapsing cliff because there is no evidence for it?
The one obligated must adopt it, as for compulsion, people ... and whoever sees ... that everything after the word compulsion is ... and the answer to it, because as it is said: Can the shadow be straight while the stick is crooked! Do you have anything now after it has been clarified to you that there is no compulsion? Either you know or you do not know, either you remember or you do not remember, there is no hardship and no compulsion!
The questioner : ... the sunnah in much of their prayer, most of the prayer they contradict the sunnah in ... .
The Shaykh : This is a wrong question.
The questioner : They do not know the sunnah, they are not people of the Sunnah ... .
The Shaykh : No, starting from here is wrong. You must study the issue from its origin, meaning: is the follower obligated to follow the imam? Of course, the answer is yes. Now, whether he errs or hits the mark, now everything is narrowing down on you, so pay attention. Whether he hits the mark or errs, or misses in what he hit the mark in, he is not followed in what he erred in.
The questioner : ... in what he hit the mark in or erred in?
The Shaykh : So you are with us now. Why do you follow him in what he erred in!
The questioner : Because I am following the imam!
The Shaykh : But if he errs ... you are, as is not hidden from you, submitting to the rulings of the Shari'ah and not responding to traditions. They may be traditions whose character is following, but whose reality is religious innovation. You said: that no one among the scholars, meaning, said this opinion. The truth is, I say: that no one among the scholars said from the disliked times in which prayer is disliked, the voluntary prayers and the preacher is preaching, no one said this statement. But Al-Albani says it. But when he says "the scholars," he contradicts them, and this is one of the wonders. Why? Because he said it despite their difference, of course, between the Hanafis and the Shafi'is. The Hanafis say if the preacher ascends the pulpit, there is no prayer and no speech. But the Shafi'is say if he enters the mosque, he must pray two rak'ahs as the greeting of the mosque. So we are not saying the opinion of the Hanafis to the extent of us, this statement of his is not explicit, but they ... did not mention this in the disliked times. The disliked times are three according to some and five according to others ... a detail of some of the times from the three, but no one said: six. But I say six, but when I say this, I contradict them in style, but I do not contradict them in creed and thought. Now, regarding the hadith:Sahih al-Bukhari 1236 there is often disagreement now. The imam stood up to the fifth rak'ah in the four-rak'ah prayer, he forgot the tashahhud, they said to him: Glory be to Allah. Some returned and some did not return, and some ... will not return ... the image ... the middle, some people say: that if he stands up from the second prostration.
The Shaykh : The question is not valid in its original form for me, because it is my opinion and then an error. I did not say, and I will not say, even in a dream, that it is obligatory for me, or that I say this opinion or part of it, that we should monitor the imams. I do not say this.
The questioner : He does not say that this is your opinion, but he says this commentator is commenting on your opinion?
The Shaykh : No, the issue is based on this understanding.
The questioner : Well, of course, that is correct, meaning... but the text of the question is not like this?The Shaykh : The question is like this, we heard the recording, ... this statement of yours that you quoted does not necessitate that hardship ... because every worshipper who prays in a mosque is in one of two states: either he knows this imam, for example, whether he places his hands on the navel or below the navel, or he knows nothing of that. If he knows, he follows what the imam does to realize the principle of
The Imam is (appointed) to be followed. So do not differ from him
إنما جُعل الإمام ليؤتم به فلا تختلفوا عليهThe one obligated must adopt it, as for compulsion, people ... and whoever sees ... that everything after the word compulsion is ... and the answer to it, because as it is said: Can the shadow be straight while the stick is crooked! Do you have anything now after it has been clarified to you that there is no compulsion? Either you know or you do not know, either you remember or you do not remember, there is no hardship and no compulsion!
The questioner : ... the sunnah in much of their prayer, most of the prayer they contradict the sunnah in ... .
The Shaykh : This is a wrong question.
The questioner : They do not know the sunnah, they are not people of the Sunnah ... .
The Shaykh : No, starting from here is wrong. You must study the issue from its origin, meaning: is the follower obligated to follow the imam? Of course, the answer is yes. Now, whether he errs or hits the mark, now everything is narrowing down on you, so pay attention. Whether he hits the mark or errs, or misses in what he hit the mark in, he is not followed in what he erred in.
The questioner : ... in what he hit the mark in or erred in?
The Shaykh : So you are with us now. Why do you follow him in what he erred in!
The questioner : Because I am following the imam!
The Shaykh : But if he errs ... you are, as is not hidden from you, submitting to the rulings of the Shari'ah and not responding to traditions. They may be traditions whose character is following, but whose reality is religious innovation. You said: that no one among the scholars, meaning, said this opinion. The truth is, I say: that no one among the scholars said from the disliked times in which prayer is disliked, the voluntary prayers and the preacher is preaching, no one said this statement. But Al-Albani says it. But when he says "the scholars," he contradicts them, and this is one of the wonders. Why? Because he said it despite their difference, of course, between the Hanafis and the Shafi'is. The Hanafis say if the preacher ascends the pulpit, there is no prayer and no speech. But the Shafi'is say if he enters the mosque, he must pray two rak'ahs as the greeting of the mosque. So we are not saying the opinion of the Hanafis to the extent of us, this statement of his is not explicit, but they ... did not mention this in the disliked times. The disliked times are three according to some and five according to others ... a detail of some of the times from the three, but no one said: six. But I say six, but when I say this, I contradict them in style, but I do not contradict them in creed and thought. Now, regarding the hadith: