Not shortening the prayer seriously on the pretext of easing it
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Q: May Allah grant you the highest abode in Paradise, O my father, Shaykh 'Abd al-'Aziz ibn 'Abd Allah ibn Baz, amen.
Peace be upon you, and Allah’s mercy and blessings, and after that:
We have a mosque in the neighborhood that has no imam, so I volunteered to lead the prayer. However, some of the brothers from the mosque congregation, may Allah guide them and us, and they are the minority, claim that I prolong the prayer. I will explain my method of prayer to Your Eminence. If there is prolongation in it, I will give up leading the prayer, because I am unable to ease it any further. If there is no prolongation, I ask for your advice to the mosque congregation, as they feel a burden during the prayer, as if they are saying: "Relieve us of it."
The duration of the prayer is generally not less than nine minutes, and if I prolong it, it does not exceed fourteen minutes. This is the Fajr prayer on Friday, where I recite Surah al-Sajdah and Surah 'Ati. As for the tasbih, it does not exceed seven times in the ruku', and three times in the sujud, in addition to the supplication. The supplication is generally the length of saying: "O Allah, dispel the distress and remove the grief," etc., or saying: "O Allah, I ask You to do good deeds," etc.
As for the recitation, sometimes I recite in the Maghrib prayer what amounts to one and a half pages for the two rak'ahs. I ask you to inform me and guide me as you see fit. I would also like to inform you that those who complain about the prolongation are in good health; they stand outside the mosque talking about worldly matters and do not feel tired, even though they stand for a quarter of an hour to half an hour. Allah is the Helper.
May Allah preserve you and benefit through you, and peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah and His blessings.
A: And upon you be peace, and Allah’s mercy and blessings, after that:
If the reality is as you described, and the duration of the prayer does not exceed fourteen minutes, then there is no prolongation in this prayer; rather, it is light. We advise you to continue with that and to act in everything according to what you learn from the words of Allah and the Sunnah of His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). May Allah guide you and benefit His servants through you, and may He guide the congregation to what brings Him pleasure and to performing the prayer in its proper Shari'ah manner. Indeed, He is the All-Hearing, the Near One.
And peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah and His blessings.
Grand Mufti of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Abdul Aziz ibn Abdullah ibn Baz
Peace be upon you, and Allah’s mercy and blessings, and after that:
We have a mosque in the neighborhood that has no imam, so I volunteered to lead the prayer. However, some of the brothers from the mosque congregation, may Allah guide them and us, and they are the minority, claim that I prolong the prayer. I will explain my method of prayer to Your Eminence. If there is prolongation in it, I will give up leading the prayer, because I am unable to ease it any further. If there is no prolongation, I ask for your advice to the mosque congregation, as they feel a burden during the prayer, as if they are saying: "Relieve us of it."
The duration of the prayer is generally not less than nine minutes, and if I prolong it, it does not exceed fourteen minutes. This is the Fajr prayer on Friday, where I recite Surah al-Sajdah and Surah 'Ati. As for the tasbih, it does not exceed seven times in the ruku', and three times in the sujud, in addition to the supplication. The supplication is generally the length of saying: "O Allah, dispel the distress and remove the grief," etc., or saying: "O Allah, I ask You to do good deeds," etc.
As for the recitation, sometimes I recite in the Maghrib prayer what amounts to one and a half pages for the two rak'ahs. I ask you to inform me and guide me as you see fit. I would also like to inform you that those who complain about the prolongation are in good health; they stand outside the mosque talking about worldly matters and do not feel tired, even though they stand for a quarter of an hour to half an hour. Allah is the Helper.
May Allah preserve you and benefit through you, and peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah and His blessings.
A: And upon you be peace, and Allah’s mercy and blessings, after that:
If the reality is as you described, and the duration of the prayer does not exceed fourteen minutes, then there is no prolongation in this prayer; rather, it is light. We advise you to continue with that and to act in everything according to what you learn from the words of Allah and the Sunnah of His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). May Allah guide you and benefit His servants through you, and may He guide the congregation to what brings Him pleasure and to performing the prayer in its proper Shari'ah manner. Indeed, He is the All-Hearing, the Near One.
And peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah and His blessings.
Grand Mufti of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Abdul Aziz ibn Abdullah ibn Baz
Source
binbaz.org.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.