Waiting for an Imam at salah time
| Fatwa #766 | Category: Prayer (Salaat) | Country: Zambia | Date: 2nd April 2024 |
| Fatwa #766 | Date: 2nd April 2024 |
| Category: Prayer (Salaat) | |
| Country: Zambia | |
Question
We perform salah in an ibadat khana with a fixed time for Jamaat. Sometimes, its time for jamaat but the person who usually leads us is still making wudhu, or sometimes, despite being late, still performs the sunnah salah taking his time though its jamaat time. In both cases, should we wait for him or we can carry on the jamaat on the fixed time with another Imam to lead us?
Answer
In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
As-salāmu ‘alaykum wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuh.
If there is a fixed appointed Imam for the ibadat khana, then the people should wait for him unless he is very late thereby causing difficulty to the people. In this instance, they should then select another Imam to lead them in his stead.[1]
If the fixed Imam has a habit of being late and still performs his nawaafil, making the people wait unnecessarily, he should be informed of this inconvenience.
If there is no fixed imam, just that one person usually leads them, then in his absence, the people can stick to the fixed Jamaat time and select someone else to lead them.
And Allah Ta’āla Knows Best
Mufti Bilal Pandor
Concurred by
Mufti Muhammad Patel
Darul Iftaa Mahmudiyyah
Lusaka, Zambia
شرح النووي على مسلم (5/ 173)
وَلَا يَؤُمَّنَّ الرَّجُلُ الرَّجُلَ فِي سُلْطَانِهِ مَعْنَاهُ مَا ذَكَرَهُ أَصْحَابُنَا وَغَيْرُهُمْ أَنَّ صَاحِبَ الْبَيْتِ وَالْمَجْلِسِ وَإِمَامَ الْمَسْجِدِ أَحَقُّ مِنْ غَيْرِهِ وَإِنْ كَانَ ذَلِكَ الْغَيْرُ أَفْقَهَ وَأَقْرَأَ وَأَوْرَعَ وَأَفْضَلَ مِنْهُ وَصَاحِبُ الْمَكَانِ أَحَقُّ فَإِنْ شَاءَ تَقَدَّمَ وَإِنْ شَاءَ قَدَّمَ مَنْ يُرِيدُهُ وَإِنْ كَانَ ذَلِكَ الَّذِي يُقَدِّمُهُ مَفْضُولًا بِالنِّسْبَةِ إِلَى بَاقِي الْحَاضِرِينَ لأنه سلطانه فيتصرف فيه كيف شاء قال أَصْحَابُنَا فَإِنْ حَضَرَ السُّلْطَانُ أَوْ نَائِبُهُ قُدِّمَ عَلَى صَاحِبِ الْبَيْتِ وَإِمَامِ الْمَسْجِدِ وَغَيْرِهِمَا لِأَنَّ وِلَايَتَهُ وَسَلْطَنَتَهُ عَامَّةٌ قَالُوا وَيُسْتَحَبُّ لِصَاحِبِ الْبَيْتِ أَنْ يَأْذَنَ لِمَنْ هُوَ أَفْضَلُ مِنْهُ قَوْلُهُ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ وَلَا يَقْعُدْ فِي بَيْتِهِ عَلَى تَكْرِمَتِهِ إِلَّا بِإِذْنِهِ