Also, he has a final question: If I recite the opening supplication in the obligatory prayer, am I required to repeat it in the voluntary prayer? With our greetings to you.
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The questioner : Also, he has a final question: If I recite the opening supplication in the obligatory prayer, am I required to repeat it in the voluntary prayer? With our greetings to you?
The Shaykh : Yes, the opening supplication is to be made at the beginning of every prayer, whether it is obligatory or voluntary. If you recite the opening supplication in the obligatory prayer, it does not suffice for the opening supplication in the voluntary prayer, because each prayer has its own ruling. Even if you are performing multiple voluntary prayers, such as the night prayer, if you recite the opening supplication in one voluntary prayer and then perform another voluntary prayer, you must recite the opening supplication in that one as well. From this, we know that what some imams do in the tarawih prayer, where they recite the opening supplication in the first unit and do not recite it in the rest, is a shortcoming or a deficiency on their part. It may be a shortcoming if they omit the opening supplication while knowing it is prescribed, or a deficiency if they are unaware of it. Otherwise, every two units that are separated from one another have a specific opening supplication for them.
On this occasion, I also say that some imams—may Allah guide us and them—in the night prayer of Ramadan hasten excessively to the point where the followers cannot keep up with them or follow them. This is forbidden for them and not permissible, because when a person is an imam, he is entrusted with a trust, and he must strive to achieve the minimum level of perfection that has been transmitted, so as not to deprive the followers of what is prescribed and recommended. The scholars have mentioned that it is disliked for the imam to hasten in a way that prevents the followers from doing what is recommended, so how much more so if the haste prevents the followers from doing what is obligatory, as is found in many mosques during the night prayer of Ramadan. This is an error, and the followers must be aware of it.
Some followers may say, "If I am at ease, people will be repelled by that." We say, yes, some people are repelled by that, but this does not matter. Rather, they are repelled because they find imams who hasten excessively, which is closer to play than to seriousness. If all the imams feared Allah the Exalted and Majestic and did what is obligatory upon them in this matter, the lazy, the negligent, or the one who wants to leave would not find a way to escape the complete prayer. And Allah is the Helper.
The questioner : We received a message from Tabuk sent by Sarhan Khayyim al-Shamri.
The Shaykh : Yes, the opening supplication is to be made at the beginning of every prayer, whether it is obligatory or voluntary. If you recite the opening supplication in the obligatory prayer, it does not suffice for the opening supplication in the voluntary prayer, because each prayer has its own ruling. Even if you are performing multiple voluntary prayers, such as the night prayer, if you recite the opening supplication in one voluntary prayer and then perform another voluntary prayer, you must recite the opening supplication in that one as well. From this, we know that what some imams do in the tarawih prayer, where they recite the opening supplication in the first unit and do not recite it in the rest, is a shortcoming or a deficiency on their part. It may be a shortcoming if they omit the opening supplication while knowing it is prescribed, or a deficiency if they are unaware of it. Otherwise, every two units that are separated from one another have a specific opening supplication for them.
On this occasion, I also say that some imams—may Allah guide us and them—in the night prayer of Ramadan hasten excessively to the point where the followers cannot keep up with them or follow them. This is forbidden for them and not permissible, because when a person is an imam, he is entrusted with a trust, and he must strive to achieve the minimum level of perfection that has been transmitted, so as not to deprive the followers of what is prescribed and recommended. The scholars have mentioned that it is disliked for the imam to hasten in a way that prevents the followers from doing what is recommended, so how much more so if the haste prevents the followers from doing what is obligatory, as is found in many mosques during the night prayer of Ramadan. This is an error, and the followers must be aware of it.
Some followers may say, "If I am at ease, people will be repelled by that." We say, yes, some people are repelled by that, but this does not matter. Rather, they are repelled because they find imams who hasten excessively, which is closer to play than to seriousness. If all the imams feared Allah the Exalted and Majestic and did what is obligatory upon them in this matter, the lazy, the negligent, or the one who wants to leave would not find a way to escape the complete prayer. And Allah is the Helper.
The questioner : We received a message from Tabuk sent by Sarhan Khayyim al-Shamri.