Some mosque imams, from the beginning of Ramadan, pray four rak'ahs first, then another person comes to act as their substitute, and then they pray, and some of the select few in the middle of the night complete [their prayer]
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The questioner : Shaykh, regarding... he says, an imam from among the mosque imams says that he, from the beginning of Ramadan, prays the first four rak'ahs as the imam, then he appoints someone else to lead the people in the next four, and he and some of the select few, some of the young men, come at one o'clock in the night, they stand up for four rak'ahs and perform witr. Is this action correct and permissible, and is it approved?
The Shaykh : ... .
The questioner : Meaning, each person memorizes a portion of the Qur'an on the basis that he will lead [the prayer] in that portion, or some of his brothers in another portion in the late night?
The Shaykh : And why does he not delegate the first four rak'ahs, but instead divides them into two parts? He put... like what we used to do, something the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) did not do, but it is possible for him to take a dispensation in maintaining... the best, and that is what 'Umar ibn al-Khattab said when he gathered them behind Ubayy ibn Ka'b: "This is a good innovation, and the one who sleeps from it is better". So if he wants to revive it in the late night with some of the young men who love the Sunnah and its revival, he appoints one person to pray with them after the 'Isha' prayer, and then he stands up to pray in the late night with his group. As for dividing it into two parts, I do not find a justification for it.
The questioner : ...that the imam performs part of his duty, initially gathering in his view, meaning that since he is the mosque imam, he prays, and they see that he prayed four rak'ahs with this group, he is present, meaning he is not absent from the prayer he is praying.
The Shaykh : The better thing than this is that the group announces it, giving them the choice: do you want to pray with us in the late night, then that is fine, or we will appoint one person to pray for you. What is the problem with that?
The Shaykh : ... .
The questioner : Meaning, each person memorizes a portion of the Qur'an on the basis that he will lead [the prayer] in that portion, or some of his brothers in another portion in the late night?
The Shaykh : And why does he not delegate the first four rak'ahs, but instead divides them into two parts? He put... like what we used to do, something the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) did not do, but it is possible for him to take a dispensation in maintaining... the best, and that is what 'Umar ibn al-Khattab said when he gathered them behind Ubayy ibn Ka'b: "This is a good innovation, and the one who sleeps from it is better". So if he wants to revive it in the late night with some of the young men who love the Sunnah and its revival, he appoints one person to pray with them after the 'Isha' prayer, and then he stands up to pray in the late night with his group. As for dividing it into two parts, I do not find a justification for it.
The questioner : ...that the imam performs part of his duty, initially gathering in his view, meaning that since he is the mosque imam, he prays, and they see that he prayed four rak'ahs with this group, he is present, meaning he is not absent from the prayer he is praying.
The Shaykh : The better thing than this is that the group announces it, giving them the choice: do you want to pray with us in the late night, then that is fine, or we will appoint one person to pray for you. What is the problem with that?