Prayer
Shortening the prayer for the traveler 📃
Q: May Allaah benefit you. The questioner says: We came to perform Umrah and we will stay for a month. Is it permissible for us to take the concession of a traveler and shorten the prayers?
A: This is a matter of dispute among scholars. What is apparent to me is that you are travelers and you can shorten your prayer if you do not pray with the imam. As for the one who prays with the imam, he must complete it. And you can break your fast. This is more correct with me, and Allaah knows best
What should congregation say behind imam in Qunoot of Witr? 📃
Q: May Allaah be good to you. The questioner says: What does the congregation say when they hear imam in the Witr qunoot glorifying Allaah and praising Him?
A: They should remain silent. They should not say, O Allaah, nor Glory be to You. And the imam's praise is also praise for the followers. If the congregation hears the imam praising Allaah, they listen to the praise of Allaah Almighty. And if there was something to be said, it would have been transmitted to us at the time of the Messenger of Allaah, may Allaah’s prayers and peace be upon him, or at the time of the Companions, may Allaah be pleased with them. And if the imam makes supplication, then the followers say "Ameen".
Is it better to complete the row or catch takbeer with imam? 📃
Q: May Allaah be good to you. The questioner says: Is it better when establishing the prayer in the Prophet’s Mosque to complete the first rows and fill in the spaces? Or hasten to say the takbeer with the imam?
A: It is better for you to advance until the rows are even and to fill the gap, even if you miss a rak’ah. The reward is for you, praise be to Allaah. Because what prevented you from saying takbeer with the imam is a legal barrier, which is advancing and filling the ranks. And whoever is prevented by the legal impediment from a deed, the reward for that deed is written for him. By the grace of Allaah, you will be rewarded. The first reward: You go forward and straighten the ranks, and the Prophet, may Allaah’s prayers and peace be upon him, said: Go forward and +!!!take care of me!!!+. And the second reward: the reward of catching the prayer from the beginning legislatively. But if there is a rak’ah left and you fear missing the congregation, then enter with the row and pray with them, I mean the nearest row that you catch until you catch up with the congregation. The interest of catching the congregation here is higher than the interest of completing the rows, and Allaah knows best
Praying in the row that has been cut off 📃
Q: May Allaah reward you. The questioner says which is better: praying in the first row that has been cut off or praying in the third row that has been connected.
A: Perhaps the questioner wants to be in this mosque now. Is it better to pray in the row next to the imam? Because now there is a row next to the imam on his right, or we pray in the rows behind. It is better to pray in the rows behind, because standing next to the imam without need is contrary to the Sunnah. He does not stand alongside the imam unless the one who is praying behind the imam does not find space behind the imam. As for standing alongside the imam with a place behind, this is contrary to the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allaah, may Allaah’s prayers and peace be upon him. And also because the one who stands in this row it is feared that he may step ahead of the imam. And whoever precedes the imam in prayer, even by a step, his prayer is invalidated according to the majority. It is the most correct of the sayings of the scholars. So praying in the back rows is better than the row next to the imam, yes
Praying Isha before its time 📃
Q: May Allaah reward you. The questioner says that in some western countries they pray Isha before the time by the Fiqh Council, so is it permissible for us to pray with them?
A: Degrees are not what's considered. Rather, what's considered is the legal signs. The legal sign of Isha prayer is the setting of the red twilight. It is not permissible for Muslims to pray Isha while they see the red twilight. The sign of the Maghrib prayer is sunset. When the sun sets, the time for Maghrib prayer begins. The point is not in degrees that contradict these legal signs. And in my theoretical study, It appeared to me that the degree in terms of pure sight in Europe is the twelfth degree. Some scholars see the fifteenth degree. The Fiqh Academy considers the seventeenth or eighteenth degree. But the legislative signs take presedence over all this talk. If the legal sign does not appear, then the Muslims in the country must agree on a time whether they take the degree decided by the Fiqh Council, or the old degree in Europe, which has many in the past, which is the fourteenth, or the twelfth degree, provided that this does not contradict the legal sign. And it does not lead to fitnah. Rather, they are keen to agree that they meet and agree on a time. It is not permissible, brothers, it is not permissible to violate the legal signs in favor of impressive sayings. And the strange fatwas that I heard these days are that a mufti issues fatwas that the countries in which the day is long in Ramadan but has night and day, but the day is long. He said they fast with the number of hours of fasting in Mecca. So he permitted them to break the fast, Allaah forbid, while they see the sun. This is undoubtedly a false statement. It is not permissible to take it or consider it, so what counts is the legal signs, in fasting from the true dawn until sunset. As long as the signs are visible, even if the day is long, then it is obligatory to fast, because time rotates, and the fast may have been 3 hours. Rather, I was informed that in some regions, at times, fasting is 1/2 hour. So do we tell them to take also from the night as we told them to leave some of the day? There is no doubt that these sayings are invalid, and the legal sign is what counts. Perhaps we suffice with this. I ask Allaah Almighty to accept from me and from you and to make us all among His righteous servants, and Allaah knows best, and may Allaah’s blessings and peace be upon our Prophet
How do I pray the sunnah of Isha before Taraweeh 📃
Q: May Allah reward you, the questioner says. How do I pray the regular sunnah of Isha prayer if the time is short between prayer and Tarawih prayer?
A: When you have finished saying the adhkaar, stand up and pray two light rak’ahs of the Sunnah of ‘Isha’, and recite the supplications one by one. For example, you say in glorification, Glory be to Allaah ten times, and praise be to Allaah ten times, and Allaah is the greatest ten, and this is one of the ways mentioned in the Sunnah. Then you pray the two light rak’ahs before Tarawih. The Prophet, may Allaah’s prayers and peace be upon him, used to start his standing with two light rak’ahs. Some of the people of knowledge have said this is for whoever wakes up from sleep so that he is energized for the night prayer. But he prays the sunnah of Isha because the sunnah of Isha is prescribed in Ramadan and in other than Ramadan throughout the year. He prays it lightly and prays with the imam. yes
Reserving place in the masjid 📃
Q: May Allaah reward you. The questioner says: Do I have the right to reserve a place in the front rows, then return to the class, then after the class go back to the lesson directly, then and after the lesson, go back to my place?
A: It is known that the mosque is the house of Allaah and that it is a waqf for worshipers for all Muslims. Whoever advances to a place and he is entitled to it, then he has more right to it and has priority over it. And we said "while he is entitled to it", what doesn't enter under that statement, for example, if a woman advances to the first row, she is not entitled to that place. It is for the one who came first. It is not permissible for anyone to abstract the place from the rest of the Muslims. It is not permissible for a person to stay in his house and send a prayer rug to be placed in the first row, and to eat and drink, and then come at the time of the call to prayer and walk through the people to the first row, praying on his prayer rug. This is injustice and aggression. In fact, he did not come first. Therefore, some scholars say the precedence is for bodies, not for prayer rugs. Bodies take precedence, not prayer rugs. And the Sheikh of Islam Ibn Taymiyyah, may Allaah have mercy on him, mentioned that removing these rugs is from prohibiting of evil. And praiseworthy command is what does not result in fitan and loud voices in the mosque. But whoever goes to a place and sits there, then gets up from it for a matter related to prayer or for a matter close, even if it is not related to prayer. He deserves his place. And he may place a prayer rug. And he may request to leave whoever sat in his place. Whoever gets up from his seat to return to it is more entitled to it. An example of this: A Muslim came to the first row after he had prayed Maghrib, for example, he came to the first row and sat before the call to prayer, and his ablution was invalidated. So he went out to perform ablution and came back. He went out for something related to prayer. This is for him to put down a prayer rug. And if he comes and finds someone in his place, he has to say, O my brother, this is my place, stand up. He deserves it. Or he went out, even if it was not a matter related to prayer, but something close. As if he went out to give his wife something. For example, a wife who broke her fast with him in the mosque, then she wanted to go home because of something that happened to her and the key was with him, so she called him, so he got up from his place to go out to her to give her the key. This is something that is not related to prayer, but it is a matter close to it, so he is more deserving of his spot. And Allaah knows. If a Muslim were to perform the Friday prayer early, he would sit in the first row before dawn, because he wants the first row. Then, after the sun had risen, he went out to do the Friday ablution, whether in his home or in the nearby places of ablution. He has a right to lay a prayer rug. Because he got up from his seat for something related to prayer, and he will return to it. He deserves it. But if his standing is for a matter not related to prayer, and it is prolonged, such as a lesson, for example, then he has no right to the place, and he should not put a carpet in its place. Rather, he should seek the reward and this is a matter of prioritising between good deeds. I hope that Allaah will write for him from His favor the reward for attending the lesson. And the reward for his prayer in the first row due to his intention, even though he was prevented from it by legislative reason. Yes