Deliberately anticipating the movements of the Imam (when praying in congregation) Man is hasty by nature, as it says in the Quran: ... and man is ever hasty. (Quran 17 : 11) The Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said: Deliberation is from Allah and haste is from satan. (Al-Bayhaqi, as-Sunan al-Kubrâ, 10/104; see also Silsilat al-ahadeeth as-Saheehah, hadith no. 1795) When praying in congregation, one often notices people to the left and right anticipating the Imam in rukoo, sujood and the takbeerât that signal changes in position - one even notices it in oneself sometimes. People may even precede the Imam in giving as-Salâm at the end of the prayer. This is a matter which may appear unimportant to many, but the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, issued a stern warning when he, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said: Does the person who raises his head before the Imam not fear that Allah may turn his head into the head of a donkey? (Muslim, 1/320-321) If a person is required to come to the prayer with dignity and composure, how then should he be during the prayer itself? Some people are confused about this issue to seek to compensate by delaying their movements after the Imam; these people should know that the fuqahâ (jurists), may Allah have mercy on them, have described an excellent way to control the matter. They said that the person following the Imam should only start his movements after the Imam has finished pronousing the ra (r) of Allahu akbar; then the person following the Imam is permitted to move, and not before or after. The Companions of the Prophet used to be very keen to avoid anticipating his movements when he led them in prayer. One of them, al-Barâ ibn Âzib, may Allah be pleased with him, said that they used to pray behind the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him: When he raised his head from bowing, I would never see anyone bending his back in prostration until the Messenger of Allah had placed his forehead on the ground, then everyone would go down in prostration behind him. (Muslim, hadith no. 474, Abdul-Bâqi edition) When the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, grew older, and became rather slow in his movements, he told the people praying behind him: O people! I have gained weight, so do not anticipate me in performing bowing and prostration. (Al-Bayhaqi, 2/93 and classified as hasan in Irwå al-Ghaleel, 2/290) The Imam is obliged to follow the Sunnah in making takbeer when he prays, as reported in the hadith narrated by Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him: When the Messenger of Allah stood up to pray, he would say takbeer (saying: Allahu Akbar) when he stood up and when he bowed... then he would say takbeer when he went down for prostration and when he raised his head, then when he went down for prostration again and when he raised his head again. Then he would repeat this throughout the whole prayer until it was finished, and he would say takbeer when he stood up after completing two rakahs. (Al-Bukhari, hadith no. 756, al-Baghå edition) If the Imam pronouses takbeer at the same time as he makes the movements, and the people following him strive to follow the guidelines mentioned here, then they will have performed the congregational prayer correctly.
Posted on: Thu, 23 Jan 2014 14:15:28 +0000
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