Is it permissible for the imam to also pray in his home and suspend the congregational prayer when it rains?
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The questioner: Our Shaykh.
The Shaykh : Be patient, yes, let the congregation hear your question.
The questioner : If we have an imam of a mosque who prays in his home before the congregation,
The Shaykh : and you are in your home?
The questioner : Yes, I do.
The Shaykh : Your mosque is in your home. You want to ask about the imam who is outside the mosque.
The questioner : He has taken the mosque for his own use.
The questioner : No, he has annexed it, not occupied it; he has annexed it.
The Shaykh : The question needs to be more precise: Is the imam whose home is outside the mosque, such that he is exposed to rain when he intends to perform the duty of imamah, also permitted to pray in his home and suspend the congregational prayer in the mosque? As for the one whose home is in the mosque, it is obligatory for him to pray in the mosque. As for this case, the issue actually requires some reflection and careful consideration. The reason for this is that when we answer that question by saying that praying in homes is permissible due to rain, it does not mean that it is obligatory.
This is because people’s ambitions and desires differ completely regarding adhering to the default rulings and dispensations. Some people are strong in resolve, eager to gain virtue, and usually nothing difficult or obstructive stops them; they have the ambition and energy to head to the mosque under heavy, torrential rains, cold snow, and the like. While other people want to cling, as it is said, even to the threads of the moon; they do not believe they hear a dispensation but they cling to it as if it were one of the default rulings. Since the imam is responsible, as came in the authentic hadithSahih al-Bukhari 5200, it appears to me, and Allah knows best, because the issue, as you see, is nothing but derivation and independent legal reasoning, that this imam should not suspend the mosque or close its door. Rather, he should leave the dispensation for others. He should leave the dispensation of praying in the home for others; otherwise, there would be no difference between the imam and the one praying behind him. The imam is supposed to be more noble and higher than everyone in every respect regarding the followers who pray behind him. This is what I see regarding the imam, and Allah knows best.
The Shaykh : Be patient, yes, let the congregation hear your question.
The questioner : If we have an imam of a mosque who prays in his home before the congregation,
The Shaykh : and you are in your home?
The questioner : Yes, I do.
The Shaykh : Your mosque is in your home. You want to ask about the imam who is outside the mosque.
The questioner : He has taken the mosque for his own use.
The questioner : No, he has annexed it, not occupied it; he has annexed it.
The Shaykh : The question needs to be more precise: Is the imam whose home is outside the mosque, such that he is exposed to rain when he intends to perform the duty of imamah, also permitted to pray in his home and suspend the congregational prayer in the mosque? As for the one whose home is in the mosque, it is obligatory for him to pray in the mosque. As for this case, the issue actually requires some reflection and careful consideration. The reason for this is that when we answer that question by saying that praying in homes is permissible due to rain, it does not mean that it is obligatory.
This is because people’s ambitions and desires differ completely regarding adhering to the default rulings and dispensations. Some people are strong in resolve, eager to gain virtue, and usually nothing difficult or obstructive stops them; they have the ambition and energy to head to the mosque under heavy, torrential rains, cold snow, and the like. While other people want to cling, as it is said, even to the threads of the moon; they do not believe they hear a dispensation but they cling to it as if it were one of the default rulings. Since the imam is responsible, as came in the authentic hadith
All of you are guardians and are responsible for your wards
كلكم راع وكلكم مسئول عن رعيته
Source
www.al-albany.com
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.