The ruling on the followers following the imam if he adds or omits in the prayer
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Question:
The first message in this evening's session is from the questioner (H. S. al-Ahmad) from the western part of the free city of al-Madinah al-Munawwarah. He says in his message, which contains several questions: One day, the imam of the mosque prayed the 'Asr prayer with us for five rak'ahs. We alerted him, but he did not return to the correct state. Is it permissible for us to follow him, or should we sit and then conclude the prayer with him? And does the one who followed him, knowing that he prayed five rak'ahs, have to repeat the prayer or not? Please inform us, may Allah reward you.
Answer:
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and blessings and peace be upon His servant and messenger, His choice from among His creation, and His trustee over His revelation, our Prophet, our Imam, and our Master Muhammad ibn 'Abd Allah, and upon his family and his Companions, and whoever follows his path and is guided by his guidance until the Day of Judgment.
As for what follows: Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) has prescribed for the Muslims that if their imam makes a mistake due to forgetfulness, they should alert him. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) made mistakes due to forgetfulness on several occasions and in various types of forgetfulness, so the Muslims alerted him, and he returned to their alerting him, peace and blessings be upon him. He explained the rulings of forgetfulness in several hadiths, among them: He explained, peace and blessings be upon him, that forgetfulness and mistakes befall him just as they befall other human beings, and that it is obligatory for the followers to alert him. Thus, the prophets and messengers, peace and blessings be upon them, do make mistakes, but they are not left in that state; either revelation comes from the sky to alert them to the error that occurred, or people alert them to it, so the mistake is known and its rulings are implemented. In this incident, the Muslims alerted him after he had prayed the fifth prayer, so he prostrated twice for forgetfulness, then said the closing salam, peace and blessings be upon him. He did not tell them to repeat their prayer, nor did he tell them that they had erred in what they did; because they thought that the prayer had been changed and that something had been added to it. For this reason, they stood up and prayed the fifth prayer with him, thinking that the prayer had been increased. When he, peace and blessings be upon him, alerted them that nothing had happened, it became clear that he, peace and blessings be upon him, had made a mistake in that, and he informed them that it was their duty to alert him... that they should alert him if their imam makes a mistake due to forgetfulness.
So it is obligatory for the followers, if the imam forgets, to alert him. They should say: Subhan Allah... Subhan Allah. This is how the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered it. He said:Sunan Abi Dawud 940Sahih (Al-Albani) So the man says: Subhan Allah... Subhan Allah, until the imam becomes aware, and the woman claps her hands, one hand over the other, until the imam becomes aware.
And if he stands up for a fifth rak'ah and does not return upon being alerted, then the followers do not stand up with him... they sit. When he concludes the prayer, they conclude with him; because they are not excused. As for him, he may be excused. He may believe that he is correct, so for this reason he did not return. And if he believes that he is correct, he does not return... he continues and completes it. But the follower, if he believes that the imam is correct, sits and waits until he concludes the prayer with his imam. And if he does not have knowledge of the matter, he stands up with the imam and follows the imam. This is the principle.
And whoever stands up with the imam and follows him because of his forgetfulness, or because of his ignorance of the legal ruling... he does not know the legal ruling; his prayer is valid even if he added, because he is either ignorant or forgetful, so nothing is upon him. But the one who knows the legal ruling and knows about the forgetfulness, he does not follow the imam, but rather he sits and waits until he concludes the prayer with his imam. This is the legal ruling in this issue.
Some people do not know the rulings, so they stand up even if they realize that he forgot, thinking that it is obligatory for them. They stand up and follow the imam. So as long as he stood up out of ignorance, his prayer is valid and nothing is upon him. But the next time this happens, he does not stand up. Once he knows the legal ruling, he does not stand up, but rather he sits and waits. He recites the tashahhud and completes it, and supplicates to his Lord. He occupies himself with supplication until his imam concludes the prayer, then he concludes with him.
And similar to this, if he concludes the prayer with an omission, he should also be alerted. For example, if in a four-rak'ah prayer he concludes from three in the Zuhr or 'Asr or 'Isha' prayer, concluding from three, then he should be alerted. If he sits, he should be alerted. If he responds and stands up, praise be to Allah. Otherwise, the one who knows that it is incomplete stands up and intends to pray alone, and stands up to complete his prayer for himself. As for the imam, it is obligatory upon him to become aware. If they alert him, he responds to them and stands up. So if he sits in the third rak'ah, and it is four... he sits in the third and they alert him, he stands up. But if he believes that he is correct, and that they are the ones who are mistaken, he does not stand up, but rather he completes his prayer and concludes it. And those with him conclude with him, if they do not have information... if they do not have certainty, they conclude with him. But the one who has certainty and knows that the imam is incomplete stands up to complete the four-rak'ah prayer. And this one is excused and this one is excused. The imam is excused in his belief in his own correctness, and the follower who knows that it is incomplete is excused in that he stood up and completed his prayer, praise be to Allah. It is the same as the addition. Yes.
The presenter: May Allah reward you with good, and may Allah bless you.
The first message in this evening's session is from the questioner (H. S. al-Ahmad) from the western part of the free city of al-Madinah al-Munawwarah. He says in his message, which contains several questions: One day, the imam of the mosque prayed the 'Asr prayer with us for five rak'ahs. We alerted him, but he did not return to the correct state. Is it permissible for us to follow him, or should we sit and then conclude the prayer with him? And does the one who followed him, knowing that he prayed five rak'ahs, have to repeat the prayer or not? Please inform us, may Allah reward you.
Answer:
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and blessings and peace be upon His servant and messenger, His choice from among His creation, and His trustee over His revelation, our Prophet, our Imam, and our Master Muhammad ibn 'Abd Allah, and upon his family and his Companions, and whoever follows his path and is guided by his guidance until the Day of Judgment.
As for what follows: Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) has prescribed for the Muslims that if their imam makes a mistake due to forgetfulness, they should alert him. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) made mistakes due to forgetfulness on several occasions and in various types of forgetfulness, so the Muslims alerted him, and he returned to their alerting him, peace and blessings be upon him. He explained the rulings of forgetfulness in several hadiths, among them:
That he (peace and blessings be upon him) forgot one day, so he stood up for the fifth rak'ah in the Zuhr or 'Asr prayer, and was not alerted. When he concluded the prayer from the fifth, the people whispered among themselves. So he asked them. They said: Has anything happened in the prayer, O Messenger of Allah? He said: What is that? They said: You prayed so much and so much, meaning: You prayed five. So he turned his feet and faced the qiblah, and prostrated the two prostrations of forgetfulness, peace and blessings be upon him, then he concluded the prayer. Then he said: If anything had happened in the prayer, I would have informed you. But I am a human being who forgets just as you forget. So if I forget, remind me.
أنه ﷺ سها ذات يوم، فقام إلى الخامسة في صلاة الظهر أو العصر، فلم ينبه، فلما سلم من الخامسة توشوش الناس فيما بينهم، فسألهم، قالوا: أحدث في الصلاة شيء يا رسول الله؟ قال: وما ذاك؟ قالوا: صليت كذا وكذا، يعني: صليت خمساً، فثنى رجليه واستقبل القبلة، وسجد سجدتي السهو عليه الصلاة والسلام، ثم سلم، ثم قال: لو حدث في الصلاة شيء لأنبأتكم به، ولكني بشر أنسى كما تنسون، فإذا نسيت فذكرونيSo it is obligatory for the followers, if the imam forgets, to alert him. They should say: Subhan Allah... Subhan Allah. This is how the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered it. He said:
If anything happens to someone during prayer, he should say “Glory be to Allah,” for when he glorifies Allah. He pays attention to him. Clapping applies only to women.
من نابه شيء في صلاته فليسبح الرجال ولتصفق النساءAnd if he stands up for a fifth rak'ah and does not return upon being alerted, then the followers do not stand up with him... they sit. When he concludes the prayer, they conclude with him; because they are not excused. As for him, he may be excused. He may believe that he is correct, so for this reason he did not return. And if he believes that he is correct, he does not return... he continues and completes it. But the follower, if he believes that the imam is correct, sits and waits until he concludes the prayer with his imam. And if he does not have knowledge of the matter, he stands up with the imam and follows the imam. This is the principle.
And whoever stands up with the imam and follows him because of his forgetfulness, or because of his ignorance of the legal ruling... he does not know the legal ruling; his prayer is valid even if he added, because he is either ignorant or forgetful, so nothing is upon him. But the one who knows the legal ruling and knows about the forgetfulness, he does not follow the imam, but rather he sits and waits until he concludes the prayer with his imam. This is the legal ruling in this issue.
Some people do not know the rulings, so they stand up even if they realize that he forgot, thinking that it is obligatory for them. They stand up and follow the imam. So as long as he stood up out of ignorance, his prayer is valid and nothing is upon him. But the next time this happens, he does not stand up. Once he knows the legal ruling, he does not stand up, but rather he sits and waits. He recites the tashahhud and completes it, and supplicates to his Lord. He occupies himself with supplication until his imam concludes the prayer, then he concludes with him.
And similar to this, if he concludes the prayer with an omission, he should also be alerted. For example, if in a four-rak'ah prayer he concludes from three in the Zuhr or 'Asr or 'Isha' prayer, concluding from three, then he should be alerted. If he sits, he should be alerted. If he responds and stands up, praise be to Allah. Otherwise, the one who knows that it is incomplete stands up and intends to pray alone, and stands up to complete his prayer for himself. As for the imam, it is obligatory upon him to become aware. If they alert him, he responds to them and stands up. So if he sits in the third rak'ah, and it is four... he sits in the third and they alert him, he stands up. But if he believes that he is correct, and that they are the ones who are mistaken, he does not stand up, but rather he completes his prayer and concludes it. And those with him conclude with him, if they do not have information... if they do not have certainty, they conclude with him. But the one who has certainty and knows that the imam is incomplete stands up to complete the four-rak'ah prayer. And this one is excused and this one is excused. The imam is excused in his belief in his own correctness, and the follower who knows that it is incomplete is excused in that he stood up and completed his prayer, praise be to Allah. It is the same as the addition. Yes.
The presenter: May Allah reward you with good, and may Allah bless you.
Source
binbaz.org.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.