An imam who, after the first rak'ah, remembers that he is not in a state of ritual purity, so he appoints the mu'adhdhin to complete the prayer with the people and orders him to repeat the prayer from the beginning; how is this?
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The questioner : Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah.
As for what follows: Peace be upon you, and the mercy of Allah and His blessings.
This happened to us once in prayer, O Shaykh: The imam (may Allah reward him with good) prayed with us, and at the beginning of the second rak'ah, he realized that he was not in a state of ritual purity. So he withdrew and brought the mu'adhdhin and said to him: "Repeat the prayer." So he said the takbir and repeated the prayer from the beginning. All the praying followers prayed five rak'ahs because they were confused about what to do, except for three who prayed the four-rak'ah prayer and differed from the imam.
The Shaykh : Do you mean the three resumed the prayer?
The questioner : The three completed it based on four rak'ahs and did not add the fifth; that is, they sat down.
The Shaykh : Did he withdraw during the second rak'ah or the first?
The questioner : He withdrew at the beginning of the second rak'ah, after the recitation of al-Fatihah.
The Shaykh : Yes, and the mu'adhdhin started from the beginning?
The questioner : And the mu'adhdhin started from the beginning.
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner : After that, one of the brothers who has, if Allah wills, some knowledge stepped forward and said to the brothers who prayed five rak'ahs: "You must repeat your prayer entirely." So one of the brothers said to him that they were confused, and that it was not required of them except to follow the imam for safety. Did they intentionally pray the fifth rak'ah, and therefore must they repeat it? Or did they follow the imam out of caution, and thus they only have to perform the prostration for forgetfulness? What is the best course of action, and Allah knows best?
The Shaykh : The best course in this situation, if the imam remembers that he is not in a state of ritual purity, is to appoint someone to pray the rest of the prayer with them without starting over. For example, he says to the mu'adhdhin or to someone behind him who can lead the congregation: "So-and-so, step forward and complete the prayer with them." They should build upon what the first imam did, except that in the recitation of al-Fatihah, he should recite it from the beginning, so that this pillar is from one imam. The rest is completed as it is. This is the best. If he does not do this, by withdrawing and not appointing someone to take his place, the followers have the option to appoint one of them to complete the prayer with them. If they do not do that, they complete it individually.
As for starting the prayer over, some scholars have said this, but there is no basis for it because the followers are excused; they do not know about the imam's state of ritual impurity. If they had known about the imam's state of ritual impurity, they would not have prayed behind him; they would have alerted him before he prayed with them. As for these people who prayed five rak'ahs based on the assumption that this is what is obligatory upon them, they owe nothing, and repeating the prayer is not obligatory upon them because they are excused by ignorance, and they are those who exerted effort and interpreted the ruling. And Allah the Exalted said:[Al-Baqarah 2:286]. The one who interprets the ruling, especially one who builds upon a principle, owes nothing. For this reason, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did not order the woman with irregular bleeding to make up the prayers she had left off based on the assumption that irregular bleeding is menstruation. Yes.
The questioner : In this situation, do they have to perform the prostration for forgetfulness?
The Shaykh : They do not have to perform the prostration because they did not forget.
As for what follows: Peace be upon you, and the mercy of Allah and His blessings.
This happened to us once in prayer, O Shaykh: The imam (may Allah reward him with good) prayed with us, and at the beginning of the second rak'ah, he realized that he was not in a state of ritual purity. So he withdrew and brought the mu'adhdhin and said to him: "Repeat the prayer." So he said the takbir and repeated the prayer from the beginning. All the praying followers prayed five rak'ahs because they were confused about what to do, except for three who prayed the four-rak'ah prayer and differed from the imam.
The Shaykh : Do you mean the three resumed the prayer?
The questioner : The three completed it based on four rak'ahs and did not add the fifth; that is, they sat down.
The Shaykh : Did he withdraw during the second rak'ah or the first?
The questioner : He withdrew at the beginning of the second rak'ah, after the recitation of al-Fatihah.
The Shaykh : Yes, and the mu'adhdhin started from the beginning?
The questioner : And the mu'adhdhin started from the beginning.
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner : After that, one of the brothers who has, if Allah wills, some knowledge stepped forward and said to the brothers who prayed five rak'ahs: "You must repeat your prayer entirely." So one of the brothers said to him that they were confused, and that it was not required of them except to follow the imam for safety. Did they intentionally pray the fifth rak'ah, and therefore must they repeat it? Or did they follow the imam out of caution, and thus they only have to perform the prostration for forgetfulness? What is the best course of action, and Allah knows best?
The Shaykh : The best course in this situation, if the imam remembers that he is not in a state of ritual purity, is to appoint someone to pray the rest of the prayer with them without starting over. For example, he says to the mu'adhdhin or to someone behind him who can lead the congregation: "So-and-so, step forward and complete the prayer with them." They should build upon what the first imam did, except that in the recitation of al-Fatihah, he should recite it from the beginning, so that this pillar is from one imam. The rest is completed as it is. This is the best. If he does not do this, by withdrawing and not appointing someone to take his place, the followers have the option to appoint one of them to complete the prayer with them. If they do not do that, they complete it individually.
As for starting the prayer over, some scholars have said this, but there is no basis for it because the followers are excused; they do not know about the imam's state of ritual impurity. If they had known about the imam's state of ritual impurity, they would not have prayed behind him; they would have alerted him before he prayed with them. As for these people who prayed five rak'ahs based on the assumption that this is what is obligatory upon them, they owe nothing, and repeating the prayer is not obligatory upon them because they are excused by ignorance, and they are those who exerted effort and interpreted the ruling. And Allah the Exalted said:
Our Lord, do not impose blame upon us if we have forgotten or erred.
رَبَّنَا لا تُؤَاخِذْنَا إِنْ نَسِينَا أَوْ أَخْطَأْنَاThe questioner : In this situation, do they have to perform the prostration for forgetfulness?
The Shaykh : They do not have to perform the prostration because they did not forget.