Is the hadith "Whoever leads a group in prayer and singles himself out for supplication has betrayed them" authentic?

The questioner : Regarding supplication, the imam's supplication in prayer, is it understood that he is obligated to supplicate for others?

The Shaykh : Do you mean qunut or supplication in general?

The questioner : I mean the hadith: .

The Shaykh : ؟

The questioner : Yes.

The Shaykh : This is a weak hadith.

The questioner : Well, what is related in this chapter is that the imam sometimes leads people in prayer...

The Shaykh : We know that the opening supplication of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was in the singular form, and that he (peace be upon him) used to say in the opening supplication: and so on, all in the singular form. Before the taslim, among the last things he would say was: and so on, all in the singular form. So how could the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) say: .

The questioner : Perhaps this was in the secret prayer.

The Shaykh : No, it was in the loud prayer, in the prayers recited aloud. Because it was narrated in Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim from Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) who said: "When the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) would say the takbir for prayer, he would remain silent for a moment." So we said: "O Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), what do you say in your silence between the takbir and the recitation?" He said: . Then the second hadith I mentioned to you: . The hadith of Ali, a long hadith in Sahih Muslim, also says that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), when he would stand for prayer, would say the takbir and say: and so on. Then the last thing he would supplicate with at the end of his prayer was: and so on.

The questioner : Meaning, this was in the secret prayer...

The Shaykh : I have now clarified your question a bit, good, so that we understand each other. Initially, the question was general, but now it has become specific, good. In principle, the hadith: is not authentic. Second, we have nothing indicating that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to supplicate and single himself out for supplication when he supplicated aloud, as is your current question. But at the same time, we have no objection to either of the two matters. If the imam supplicates aloud for a specific reason, such as qunut for calamities, why did I ask you: Is your question related to the supplication of qunut or something else? There is nothing in the prayer where the imam supplicates aloud except for qunut. And the correct, established supplication of qunut in the Sunnah is the supplication for a calamity that befalls the Muslims. It is very obvious that at that time the supplication should be collective. Therefore, the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), as narrated in Sahih al-Bukhari, . So, there is nothing in the prayer where it is prescribed to supplicate aloud except for the supplication of qunut, qunut for calamity. And at that time, reality dictates that the supplication should not be for an individual, but for all Muslims. And despite all this, we do not say that it is not permissible for a Muslim to include Muslims in his supplication. But we say that if a Muslim supplicates for himself, he does not deserve the severe punishment implied by that weak hadith.

The questioner : And no other hadith, and no evidence that...

The Shaykh : As an authentic hadith, no. There is a hadith we published in al-Da'if but after it was published: that he heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) hear a man supplicating for himself, so he said to him: , meaning he generalized the supplication. But this hadith is very weak, and no argument can be established based on it. Yes, that is correct.