Explanation of the Book of the Adhan-07b
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The reciter: Mas'ud narrated to us, saying: Isma'il ibn Ibrahim narrated to us from Ayyub from Abdullah ibn Sa'id ibn Jubayr from his father from Ibn Abbas, who said: I spent the night at my aunt's house, and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) rose to pray the night prayer. I rose to pray with him, and I stood to his left, so he took my head and placed me to his right.
The Shaykh : The author (may Allah have mercy on him) intended in this chapter to clarify: if a person stands alone and then someone comes to pray with him, is this leadership valid and do they become a congregation, or not? In this issue, the scholars have three opinions. The first opinion is that it is not valid absolutely, meaning it is not valid for a person to transition from praying alone to leading, meaning if he stands alone and then another person joins him, that is not valid, neither in the obligatory prayer nor in the voluntary prayer. The second opinion is the opposite: that this is valid in both the obligatory and the voluntary prayer. The third opinion is the middle one: that it is valid in the voluntary prayer but not in the obligatory prayer. Do you understand? How many opinions are there? Three: the first is that it is not valid absolutely, the second is that it is valid absolutely, and the third distinguishes between the obligatory and the voluntary. The stronger opinion among these is that it is valid absolutely, in both the obligatory and the voluntary prayer, meaning it is valid for a person to begin his prayer alone and then for people to join him so he prays with them as a congregation. This is the stronger opinion. Its evidence is that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did this, meaning he (peace and blessings be upon him) stood alone and Abdullah ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) prayed with him, and this was in a voluntary prayer. But what is established in the voluntary prayer is established in the obligatory prayer unless there is evidence to the contrary, because all of it is prayer, and the original ruling is that the voluntary and the obligatory agree in judgment. This is also indicated by the fact that when the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) prayed on his mount during travel, they said: "Except that he does not pray the obligatory prayer on it." Their exception was so that no one would associate the obligatory prayer with the voluntary. This indicates that what is established in the voluntary is established in the obligatory; otherwise, this exception would have no benefit. And this is what I mentioned is the choice of Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) and our Shaykh Abd al-Rahman ibn Sa'di (may Allah have mercy on him), that it is valid for a person to transition from praying alone to leading. Now, those who say it is not valid claim that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) approved Ibn Abbas's action because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) thought he would be present. If a person stands alone while thinking that a congregation will join him, there is no harm if the congregation arrives and prays with him. It is said: this is a claim that requires evidence, and there is no evidence in the issue. Where do you have that the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) thought that this boy, who is now sleeping, would rise and pray the night prayer with him? In fact, the most likely probability is that it did not cross the Messenger's (peace and blessings be upon him) mind that Ibn Abbas would rise from his sleep, being a young boy, to pray the night prayer with him. So the most likely probability is that the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) did not think this at all. Now, does this include the case where a person is praying a voluntary prayer and then a person comes and joins him with the intention of the obligatory prayer? For example, a man who, after the midday prayer, rose to pray the regular voluntary prayer of the midday, and then another person came and joined him with the intention of the obligatory prayer. Is it valid or not? It is valid... Yes?
The student: The Hanafis say that it is not valid.
The Shaykh : All right, the Hanafis say it is not valid. And the issue, as was said, has scholarly disagreement. Some say that this is not valid, not because he intended a congregation instead of praying alone, but because he became an imam praying a voluntary prayer while the one behind him is praying an obligatory one, and the obligatory prayer is not valid behind a voluntary one. So the operative cause of the invalidity is the obligatory prayer being led by the voluntary. And with that, we move to this issue: is it valid for the one praying the obligatory to be a follower and the imam to be praying a voluntary? There is disagreement here too, even among the Hanbalis. Wait a moment, I haven't finished yet. Let me finish. May Allah reward you with good. There is disagreement even among the Hanbalis. Yes. Some of the scholars say that it is not possible for the one praying the obligatory to be a follower of one praying a voluntary, because the obligatory is higher than the voluntary, and this would require the follower to be in a higher rank than the imam, and this is not valid. The second opinion is that it is valid for the one praying the obligatory to follow the one praying the voluntary. The evidence for this is that Mu'adh ibn Jabal (may Allah be pleased with him) used to pray the night prayer with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and then he would go to his people and pray that prayer with them, meaning he would pray the night prayer with them, but for Mu'adh it was a voluntary prayer because he had prayed the obligatory with the Messenger, and for them it was the obligatory. And this happened in the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). If this happened in the time of the Messenger, it is a proof. But they explained this argument by saying that it is not in the hadith that the Messenger knew about it, and it is not a proof unless the Messenger knew about it and approved it, and it is not in the hadith that the Messenger knew and approved it. We say to them in a simple reply: Do you have knowledge that the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) did not know about it? Yes? No, he knew about it and approved it. Then we say in another answer: If the Messenger did not know about it, then Allah knew about it. And here they cannot say that Allah did not know about it. Did Allah deny it when He knew about it? No. And if Allah knows something He does not approve of, He denies it, as in His saying:[An-Nisa 4:108] So He denied something they were hiding from the people, but He knew it, so He made it clear to the servants. If what Mu'adh ibn Jabal was doing were not a Shari'ah pleasing to Allah, Allah would have denied it, so that the servants would not worship according to a Shari'ah He does not approve of. Is that clear, everyone? So the stronger opinion is that it is permissible for a person, if he enters the mosque after the congregational prayer has passed and he finds a person praying alone, even if he is praying the regular voluntary prayer, to join him.
The Shaykh : The author (may Allah have mercy on him) intended in this chapter to clarify: if a person stands alone and then someone comes to pray with him, is this leadership valid and do they become a congregation, or not? In this issue, the scholars have three opinions. The first opinion is that it is not valid absolutely, meaning it is not valid for a person to transition from praying alone to leading, meaning if he stands alone and then another person joins him, that is not valid, neither in the obligatory prayer nor in the voluntary prayer. The second opinion is the opposite: that this is valid in both the obligatory and the voluntary prayer. The third opinion is the middle one: that it is valid in the voluntary prayer but not in the obligatory prayer. Do you understand? How many opinions are there? Three: the first is that it is not valid absolutely, the second is that it is valid absolutely, and the third distinguishes between the obligatory and the voluntary. The stronger opinion among these is that it is valid absolutely, in both the obligatory and the voluntary prayer, meaning it is valid for a person to begin his prayer alone and then for people to join him so he prays with them as a congregation. This is the stronger opinion. Its evidence is that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did this, meaning he (peace and blessings be upon him) stood alone and Abdullah ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) prayed with him, and this was in a voluntary prayer. But what is established in the voluntary prayer is established in the obligatory prayer unless there is evidence to the contrary, because all of it is prayer, and the original ruling is that the voluntary and the obligatory agree in judgment. This is also indicated by the fact that when the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) prayed on his mount during travel, they said: "Except that he does not pray the obligatory prayer on it." Their exception was so that no one would associate the obligatory prayer with the voluntary. This indicates that what is established in the voluntary is established in the obligatory; otherwise, this exception would have no benefit. And this is what I mentioned is the choice of Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) and our Shaykh Abd al-Rahman ibn Sa'di (may Allah have mercy on him), that it is valid for a person to transition from praying alone to leading. Now, those who say it is not valid claim that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) approved Ibn Abbas's action because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) thought he would be present. If a person stands alone while thinking that a congregation will join him, there is no harm if the congregation arrives and prays with him. It is said: this is a claim that requires evidence, and there is no evidence in the issue. Where do you have that the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) thought that this boy, who is now sleeping, would rise and pray the night prayer with him? In fact, the most likely probability is that it did not cross the Messenger's (peace and blessings be upon him) mind that Ibn Abbas would rise from his sleep, being a young boy, to pray the night prayer with him. So the most likely probability is that the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) did not think this at all. Now, does this include the case where a person is praying a voluntary prayer and then a person comes and joins him with the intention of the obligatory prayer? For example, a man who, after the midday prayer, rose to pray the regular voluntary prayer of the midday, and then another person came and joined him with the intention of the obligatory prayer. Is it valid or not? It is valid... Yes?
The student: The Hanafis say that it is not valid.
The Shaykh : All right, the Hanafis say it is not valid. And the issue, as was said, has scholarly disagreement. Some say that this is not valid, not because he intended a congregation instead of praying alone, but because he became an imam praying a voluntary prayer while the one behind him is praying an obligatory one, and the obligatory prayer is not valid behind a voluntary one. So the operative cause of the invalidity is the obligatory prayer being led by the voluntary. And with that, we move to this issue: is it valid for the one praying the obligatory to be a follower and the imam to be praying a voluntary? There is disagreement here too, even among the Hanbalis. Wait a moment, I haven't finished yet. Let me finish. May Allah reward you with good. There is disagreement even among the Hanbalis. Yes. Some of the scholars say that it is not possible for the one praying the obligatory to be a follower of one praying a voluntary, because the obligatory is higher than the voluntary, and this would require the follower to be in a higher rank than the imam, and this is not valid. The second opinion is that it is valid for the one praying the obligatory to follow the one praying the voluntary. The evidence for this is that Mu'adh ibn Jabal (may Allah be pleased with him) used to pray the night prayer with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and then he would go to his people and pray that prayer with them, meaning he would pray the night prayer with them, but for Mu'adh it was a voluntary prayer because he had prayed the obligatory with the Messenger, and for them it was the obligatory. And this happened in the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). If this happened in the time of the Messenger, it is a proof. But they explained this argument by saying that it is not in the hadith that the Messenger knew about it, and it is not a proof unless the Messenger knew about it and approved it, and it is not in the hadith that the Messenger knew and approved it. We say to them in a simple reply: Do you have knowledge that the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) did not know about it? Yes? No, he knew about it and approved it. Then we say in another answer: If the Messenger did not know about it, then Allah knew about it. And here they cannot say that Allah did not know about it. Did Allah deny it when He knew about it? No. And if Allah knows something He does not approve of, He denies it, as in His saying: