If the imam remembers during prayer that he is not in a state of ritual purity while he is in prostration, what should he do?

The questioner : Shaykh, if the imam remembers that he is not in a state of ablution while he is in prostration, does he raise his head without saying the takbir and ask one of them to step forward... perhaps he is the most God-fearing of them? And the ma'mum might be taken by surprise. In any case, what is your opinion on this?

The Shaykh : Yes, of course, he does not raise his head from prostration with the takbir, because the takbir here, as some jurists say, is among the essentials of the prayer. But to avert the harm you pointed out, he should recall the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): So he should raise his voice with "Subhan Allah" and gesture to those in prostration, who will undoubtedly be surprised by this tasbih and will raise their heads. He should then gesture to them to remain in prostration. Whether they understand his intent or not, the important thing is that those who understand what he wants from them will remain either in prostration or sitting until he comes back, having renewed his purity, if the ablution area is near him. Otherwise, in this case, he must appoint someone to complete the prayer for them.

The questioner : One rak'ah or two rak'ahs, what does he do?

The Shaykh : What do you mean by "complete the prayer"?

The questioner : If they are in the third rak'ah, for example.

The Shaykh : He completes the prayer, my brother.

The questioner : Is it not the case that the beginning of the prayer is built upon its end?

The Shaykh : What is this discussion? We do not give it any weight; rather, the correct methodology is...

The questioner: Yes.

The Shaykh : ...that a person should ask what is the basis for this statement and what is its evidence.

The questioner: Yes.

The Shaykh : Because we believe that whoever is with us on the methodology of the Book and the Sunnah, and as it is said, "When the athar comes, the reasoning is invalidated, and when the river of Allah comes, the river of Ma'qil is invalidated," as soon as the text is known, this statement collapses, if we do not say that this philosophy collapses!

The questioner: Yes.

The Shaykh : So we answered as we did based on a hadith in Sunan Abu Dawud and Musnad Imam Ahmad from Abu Bakrah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) led the people in the Fajr prayer one day, said the takbir, then gestured to them to stay in their place, and entered the room. He came back with his head dripping with water and prayed with them. The meaning of "prayed with them" is that he completed it with them, and they remained standing. And for this reason, we detailed the matter mentioned in the question. If your statement mentioned earlier were correct, then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) entered the prayer thinking he was in a state of purity, but he was not in a state of purity. According to the majority of scholars, such a prayer is invalid from its origin.

The questioner: Yes.

The Shaykh : Because he was not in a state of purity. But this text, this hadith, confirms the general rule established by the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) in the authentic hadith: "Indeed, Allah is forgiving..." This is not This is the rule in these three matters. Of course, this does not contradict what is said that every rule has exceptions. Why? Because there are some rulings for which a person is held accountable even if he was forgetful, or even if he was, for example, ignorant. "I have removed from my community the error... sometimes one may be held accountable for error, and sometimes for forgetfulness. But what is the rule? That one is not held accountable. So if we want to depart from the rule, we must have a text. This incident is among those that support the rule that accountability has been lifted from people. So when the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) entered the Fajr prayer while not in a state of purity, because he said (peace be upon him) when he finished the prayer with them: And therefore, when he gestured to them to stay in their place, he returned with his head dripping with water, meaning that he had taken a bath. So his saying (peace be upon him): First, it is an explanation of this action he performed. Second, it clarifies that this issue or this part falls within the rule. If it were said, and it has actually been said, that the Messenger (peace be upon him) did not enter the prayer, our answer is that those who made this claim argued with the hadith of Abu Hurayrah in Sahih al-Bukhari that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) stood up one day in the Fajr prayer to pray, then remembered that he was in a state of major ritual impurity, so he said to them: Then he went and came back having taken a bath. We say that these are two authentic narrations, and the judges are completely different in terms of the beginning and in terms of the gesture or statement. That is, in the hadith of Abu Bakrah al-Thaqafi (may Allah be pleased with him), it is explicitly stated that he said the takbir, whereas in the hadith of Abu Hurayrah, there is nothing of that; rather, he stood up. Then in the hadith of Abu Bakrah, he gestured to them to stay in their place. Why did he not say "stay in your place"? Because he was in prayer, may Allah have mercy on you. It is not permissible for one who is in prayer, or in the status of a person in prayer, to be occupied with something that is not permissible for the person in prayer, and that includes speech. Whereas in the story of Abu Hurayrah, he said to them because he was not in prayer. So when we know the details of the hadith of Abu Bakrah, the previous statement is not applicable. And I am at ease, and may you be at ease with me, if Allah wills.

The questioner : Do you not see a difference between the imam leaving in the second rak'ah and his leaving in the last rak'ah?

The Shaykh : Between the imam leaving...

The questioner : I say, do you not see that there is a difference between the imam leaving in the first rak'ah and his leaving in the last rak'ah, for example?

The Shaykh : Do you mean a specific incident, or are you speaking about the two incidents mentioned?

The questioner : I am speaking about the hadith of Abu Bakrah (may Allah be pleased with him).

The Shaykh : Are there rak'ahs in the hadith of Abu Bakrah?

The questioner : That the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him)...

The Shaykh : Are there rak'ahs in the hadith of Abu Bakrah?

The questioner : There are no rak'ahs.

The Shaykh: Yes.

The questioner : There is nothing.

The Shaykh : And where did you get that from?

The questioner : But I am asking your question.

The Shaykh : No problem, I understood your question, but as you understood my question, I hope you understand my question?

The questioner: Yes.

The Shaykh : Where did you get the rak'ahs from? Distinguishing between the first rak'ah and the second rak'ah, where from?

The questioner : I answered that I would benefit, because if the imam, Shaykh, leaves in the last rak'ah, for example, and performs ablution and returns...

The Shaykh : And upon you be peace and the mercy of Allah.

The questioner : ...and performs ablution and returns to the ma'mum and goes back to his place, does he complete this remaining rak'ah, or does he restart the prayer anew?

The Shaykh : My brother, restarting is based on the invalidity of the prayer from its beginning, and I think you know this?

The questioner: Yes.

The Shaykh : And we are now establishing that the beginning of the prayer is not invalid.

The questioner: Yes.

The Shaykh : Because he is excused due to forgetfulness, so there is no difference between the first, second, third, and fourth rak'ah.

The questioner : Yes, may Allah reward you with good.

The Shaykh : And upon you be peace and the mercy and blessings of Allah. Welcome, excuse me, welcome.

Another questioner : ... .

The Shaykh : Do you know the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family): So part of complete knowledge is that you know that this hadith indicates either the conditionality of the takbir or the pillar status of the takbir. This is a point of disagreement among scholars, and this disagreement is not fundamental, because the condition is like the pillar; if it is disrupted, the prayer is disrupted and not valid. So considering the takbir of intention as a condition or a pillar leads to the same result!

The questioner: Yes.

The Shaykh : So whoever does not enter the prayer with the takbir does not have a valid prayer.

The questioner: Yes.

The Shaykh : Okay, apply this to the takbir of intention: standing, bowing, prostration, rak'ahs.

The questioner: Yes.

The Shaykh : That is, if the Wise Lawgiver considered a pillar of the prayer in a certain incident to be valid, what is the difference then between this pillar and the second, third, and fourth? There is no difference!

The questioner: Yes.

The Shaykh : Absolutely. On this, let us, as they say in Syria, "strike it as a four-rak'ah prayer." He prayed three rak'ahs while not in a state of purity. When he stood for the fourth rak'ah, he remembered. What does he do? He does what the Messenger (peace be upon him) did: he goes and performs ablution, then returns to where he remembered and completes the prayer, meaning he performs the fourth rak'ah. Why? Because the first three rak'ahs, he was excused in them due to forgetfulness.

The questioner: Yes.

The Shaykh : Unlike the fourth rak'ah. So if he remembers in the fourth, remembers in the third, remembers in the second, remembers in the first...

The questioner : May Allah reward you with good. Excuse me.