NAMAZ IN JAMAAT
You step in a mosque with your right foot. When leaving a mosque you step out with your left foot first. It is written in Uyun-ul-basair: “When entering a mosque, you take off your left and then right shoe before entering. Then you step in with your right foot first. You put on your right shoe after [or before] leaving with your left foot first.” In explaining the afflictions incurred by the hand and foot, the book Hadiqa says, “As imam-i Nawawi says in his explanation of Muslim, it is mustahab to begin with your right side when doing blessed, honored and pure deeds. You begin with your right when putting on your shoes, trousers, shirt, when cutting or combing your hair, when cutting your moustache, when using a miswak, when cutting your nails, when washing your hands and feet, when entering a mosque, a Muslim’s house, a Muslim’s room, when going out of a rest room, when giving alms, when eating, and when drinking. When doing the opposite of these, for example, when taking off your shoes, socks, clothes, when going out of a mosque, or a Muslim’s house, a Muslim’s room, when entering the restroom, when expelling mucus from your nose, when cleaning yourself after relieving nature, it is mustahab to begin with your left. It is tanzihi makruh to do them conversely, because it means omitting the sunnat in hay’at (form).” [To shave the beard in order to follow the local regulations is like this.]
Ibni Abidin (rahmatullahi ta’ala 'alaih) says, "There are two types of imam. Let us discuss Imamat-i kubra first. This will be mentioned again in the explanation of baghi (a rebel) on the three hundred and tenth page of the third volume. It is also written on the one hundred and forty-third, two hundred and ninety-fourth, and three hundred and fifty-first pages of the book Al-Hadiqat-un-nadiyya, written by AbdulGhani Nabulusi (rahmatullahi ta’ala 'alaih). The second type of imam is called Imamat-i sugra, which means being an imam to conduct a namaz that is fard. It is sunnat for men in Hanafi and Maliki to perform the fard of the five daily prayers of namaz in jamaat. And it is obligatory (fard) for the prayers of Friday and 'Iyd. It is makruh to perform the supererogatory prayers of namaz in jamaat. In the five daily prayers even one additional person will suffice as a jamaat. A person whose qiraat (recitation of the Qur’an) is beautiful, that is, who knows the letters of the Qur’an and who knows how to read the Qur’an with tajwid, becomes the imam and not a person whose voice is good and who reads the Qur’an melodiously! It is makruh for a sinner to become the imam. It is tahrimi makruh to follow him even if he is deeply learned. A hadith declares: “A person who performs namaz with a savant who is muttaqi has performed namaz as though he was with the Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wa sallam).”
It is written on the one hundred and thirty-fifth page of the book Uyun-ul basair: “A person who does not go to the mosque [though he does not have an excuse], but instead makes the jamaat with his wife at home, cannot attain the blessings of the jamaat in the mosque. That is, he cannot get the extra blessings that are peculiar to the mosque. But he gets the blessings of the jamaat, that is, the blessings that are twenty-seven times the number of those received for performing namaz alone. However, we must add that this is so when both of the jamaats fulfill the conditions and sunnats. If the jamaat at home is more acceptable, it is necessary to perform it at home.” It is written so on the four hundred and second, the six hundred and thirteenth, and the six hundred and nineteenth pages of Halabi al-Kabir.
[As it can be understood, we must not perform namaz behind those imams who do not observe the conditions of namaz properly. Their namaz is not sahih. It is permissible but makruh to perform namaz behind an imam who knows and respects the fards of ablution and namaz though he commits sins, e.g. drinks alcohol, takes interest for the money he has lent, looks at women and girls, and gambles. It is written in the fatwa of Abussuud Effendi that the hadith “Perform namaz behind a sinner as well as behind a pious Muslim!” is meant not for the imams of mosques but for Emirs and governors who conduct Friday prayers, so that they will be followed and obeyed. We must not perform namaz behind those imams who we know are committing sins. We must not follow an imam who does not have the conditions that an imam must have and who reads the Qur’an melodiously. We must go to the mosque of an imam who is devoted to his faith. We must go to the mosque for every namaz, but when meeting with an imam who is sinful, ignorant, la-Madhhabi, or who is a religion reformer, we must not follow him. We must not stop attending the mosque just because we think that there may be such an imam. It is written in the fatwa of Abussuud Effendi, which exists in the library of Molla Murad (in Istanbul) with number 1114: “It is wajib to dismiss an imam who makes a living through haram and who takes interest by lending money. It is fard to know how to read the Qur’an with tajwid. He who does not know the tajwid cannot observe the rules concerning makharij-i Huruf (parts of the mouth, tongue, velum and pharynx where letters and sounds are articulated). The Qur’an al-karim read and the namaz performed by a person who cannot observe the places of the letters in the articulatory organs are not acceptable.” [See Endless Bliss, II, chapter 21.] It is every Muslim’s duty to strive so that a person who fulfills the conditions for being an imam will become the imam.
It is written in the marginal notes of the explanation of Nur-ul-izah: “Being an imam requires fulfilling six conditions.” The namaz is not performed behind an imam who is known not to have one of these conditions:
1 - To be a Muslim. He who disbelieves the fact that Abu Bakr Siddiq and 'Umar Faruq were Khalifas or who does not believe in the Miraj or the torment in the grave cannot be an imam unless he has an explanation.
2 - To be at the age of puberty.
3 - To be discreet. A drunk or senile person cannot be an imam.
4 - To be a man. A woman cannot be an imam for men.
5 - To be able to recite at least the Fatiha-i Sharifa and one more ayat correctly. A person who has not memorized one ayat or who cannot recite with tajwid the ayats he has memorized or who recites the ayats melodiously cannot be an imam.
6 - To be without an excuse. A person who has an excuse cannot be the imam for those who do not have an excuse. Excuses are: continuous bleeding at some part of the body, wind-breaking or urination, repeated pronunciation of the letters “te” and “fe”, lisping, that is, pronouncing the letter “sin” as “se” (a letter which is pronounced with “th” sound) and the letter “ra” as “ghayn” (that is, voiced velar fricative instead of post-alveolar frictionless continuant), being without an ablution or being smeared with najasat in excess of one dirham, and being with bare awrat parts. A person who has an eye sore becomes a person with an excuse if he cannot control his tears. Any liquid coming out of the ears, navel, nose, nipples because of some pain is an excuse if it issues continuously. The same is the case with blood, filth, yellow liquid produced by the above-named parts or by a cut or sore even without pain. Those who share the same excuses can be the imam for each other, and a person who has one excuse can be the imam for a person who has two. In the Shafi’i and Maliki Madhhab, a person who has an excuse can be the imam for those who do not have an excuse. [A person who makes a masah on the ointment of a wound or on a bandage, or who has crowned or filled his teeth and therefore imitates the Shafi’i or Maliki Madhhab, is not considered to have an excuse].
It is written on the three hundred and seventy-sixth page of Durr-ul-mukhtar: “It is makruh for those who are religiously ignorant [even if they are professors], for sinners, that is, for those who commit grave sins, - drink alcohol, commit fornication, take interest, allow their wives and daughters to go out naked - and for blind people to become the imam. It is not sahih for a fasiq (person who sins frankly) to be an imam according to the Maliki Madhhab (Halabi).] We have given the fatwa of Abussuud Effendi (rahmatullahi 'alaih) above. If a blind person is deeply learned he can be the imam. Also, it is makruh for a *******, that is, one who was born out of an illegitimate relation, to be the imam. It is makruh for a beardless person who has just reached the age of puberty to be the imam, even if he is deeply learned. For it causes fitna. It is not makruh to perform namaz behind a person whose beard does not grow but who is not extremely handsome.” [Therefore, to be an imam it is not necessary to have a beard. Namaz may be performed behind a person who shaves because of a good excuse. A person whose beard does not have the shape prescribed by the sunnat is a bidat holder. A person who slights the fact that one’s beard must be in compliance with the sunnat becomes a disbeliever. See twenty-first chapter!].
There are ten conditions to be fulfilled in order to follow the imam correctly:
1 - When beginning namaz, you must make the niyyat (intend) to follow the imam before saying the takbir. It is not necessary to intend with the name of the imam or of the namaz.
2 - The imam has to intend to become the imam for women (if he is to conduct a jamaat of women). [Ibni Abidin says while stating the makruhs of namaz: “It is not permissible for girls, women or old women to go to a mosque for the five daily prayers, for prayers of Friday or 'Iyd, or to listen to sermons. Of old, only old women were permitted to go to mosques for evening and night prayers, but now it is not permissible for them, either.” It is particularly haram for women to go to mosques with bare heads, arms and legs for the purpose of listening to mawlids, sermons and hafizes. It is a grave sin. Even Christian women are not so freely dressed when they go to church. Places where freely dressed women are mixed with men are not called mosques. One does not go to such places even to perform namaz. An imam does not have to make intention to be the imam for men. Yet if he does he will attain the blessings of the Jamaat, too. It is written on the one hundred and forty-eighth page of the book Hadiqa: “Savants of fiqh said that if the imam does not make his niyyat to become the imam for others who will follow him when beginning namaz, it is sahih to follow him, but he himself will not be given the blessings for being the imam. Yet because he has not intended to be the imam, he will be given the blessings of his own namaz as if he performed it alone. When he makes his niyyat to lead others he will also get the blessings for being the imam depending on the number of people in the jamaat.”]
3 - Heels of the jamaat must be behind the imam’s heels.
4 - The imam and the jamaat must be performing the same fard namaz. When a person who has already performed the fard of the time follows the imam, he will have performed a supererogatory namaz.
5 - There must not be a line of women between the imam and the jamaat. If the women are less than enough to form a complete line and if there is a curtain between them or if they are at a lower or higher place, it will be permissible.
6 - A wall (between the imam and the jamaat) is not a hindrance as long as the jamaat see or hear the imam. However, there must not be a road or a river whereby a cart or a boat could pass through, which is a hindrance. When two more lines on the road or on a bridge over the river follows the imam the namaz of the jamaat behind will be accepted.
7 - There must not be a wall between the imam and the jamaat that does not have a window convenient for seeing or hearing the imam. Following the imam in jamaat is not acceptable unless you can hear the imam’s or the muazzin’s voice, or see the acts of other people who can hear them.
[We have already written in the section concerning the adhan that the voice coming out of a radio, a television or a loud-speaker is not a human voice. A worship done following a voice reaching you through one of them is not sahih (acceptable). An iman who is conducting namaz in jamaat on the movie screen or television cannot be followed. To follow him would be an act of bidat and a grave sin.]
It is written in Al-muqaddimat-ul-hadramiyya, Anwar, Al-fiqh-u-alal-madhahib-il- arba’a, and Misbah-un-najat, “In the Shafi’i Madhhab, if someone outside the mosque follows the imam inside, it will be necessary for him to sense the actions of the imam either by seeing the imam or someone who sees him in the jamaat, or by hearing the imam’s or the muazzin’s voice. Further more, the distance between him and the last line of the jamaat should not be more than three hundred dhras [300x0,42=126 meters] approximately.” It is stated in Targhib-us-salat, “If a person is outside the mosque, his following the imam is sahih only when the mosque is full. If the mosque is not full or if it is full but there is a distance large enough for a cart (or car) to pass between the last line and the person outside the mosque, his following the imam will not be sahih.” The fact that those prayers performed by following the voice in a loud speaker or the imam on television are not accepted is written in the twelfth issue of the magazine Al-Muallim, dated Rabi’ul- awwal, 1406 [December, 1985], and published by the Indian Muslim scholars of the city of Malappuram, Kerala, India. He corroborates his thesis by citing very strong and detailed proofs. See the fatwa of Yahya Effendi!
8 - The imam must not be on an animal while the jamaat is on the ground or vice versa.
9 - The imam and the jamaat must not be on two different ships that are not adjacent to each other.
10 - The jamaat that is following an imam who is in another Madhhab must not know that something that nullifies namaz according to their own Madhhab exists in the imam. For example, because it is not permissible for the imam to bleed or to have made a masah on less than one-fourth of his head (when making an ablution) according to the Hanafi Madhhab, a Shafi’i imam who is known to have done so must not be followed. This statement is correct because most scholars share this view. If the Shafi’i imam is seen bleeding, then if he disappears for a while and then comes back, he can be followed. For he may have made an ablution in the meantime. It is good to have a good opinion. [Also, according to these scholars, a Hanafi person must not follow a Shafi’i imam who has been seen to have crowned or filled teeth.] As it is written in Radd al-mukhtar, Tahtawi’s annotation to Imdad and Ahmad Hamawi’s annotation to Ashbah (v.2, p.217): “There are also savants such as Muhammad Hinduwani who say that a Shafi’i imam whose namaz is sahih according to his own Madhhab can be followed.” The book Nihaya writes that this report is more conformable to qiyas, adding: “According to this report a Shafi’i imam on whom something not permissible in Hanafi Madhhab is seen may be followed.” The fact that this report is also true is written in Halabi al-Kabir. It is permissible in Maliki Madhhab, too. According to those savants, it is permissible to follow a Shafi’i or Maliki imam who has been seen to have crowned or filled teeth. This means that a person who is in the Hanafi Madhhab but who follows the Shafi’i or Maliki Madhhab because he has crowned or filled teeth can also, according to those savants be an imam for those Hanafis who do not have crowned or filled teeth. This is because he is like an imam in the Shafi’i or Maliki Madhhab. Moreover, he adapts himself to the other conditions of his Madhhab and performs witr prayer knowing it as wajib. [It is not permissible to ask or inquire if he has a crowning or filling, or whether he is imitating Shafi’i or Maliki.] If an imam in another Madhhab [but imitates the Shafi’i Madhhab] observes the conditions in the Hanafi Madhhab, too, following him is better than performing namaz alone. But following a Hanafi imam [and one who has no fillings] is better than following him. [One who has crowned or filled teeth should not accept the duty of being an imam.]
If the jamaat is made up of only one person, he stands on the right-hand side of the imam. It is makruh to stand on his left. It is makruh also to stand behind him. If his heel is not ahead of the imam’s heel, his namaz will be sahih. When there are two or more people they must stand behind the imam. In a jamaat the first one stands right behind the imam, the second one on the right of the first one, the third one on the left of the first, the fourth one on the right of the second, the fifth one on the left of the third and so on. If the second person arrives after the imam has started, he stands behind the imam, and the first person must move backwards and stand behind the imam without breaking his namaz. The imam does not move forward.
If there is a space large enough to include two lines or a large pond between the imam and the jamaat, it is permissible for the people behind it to follow the imam; yet it is makruh to perform it alone in this case. It is not necessary there to be jamaat (people performing the same namaz and following the same imam) on both sides of the pond or the space. So is the case with open or closed places or rooms adjacent to the mosque. [Tahtawi’s commentary titled Imdad]. Please see the fifty second chapter in the second part of the Turkish version!
A person who made an ablution can follow an imam who made a tayammum; a person who performs the namaz standing can follow an imam performing it sitting; and one performing a supererogatory namaz can follow an imam performing the fard. One must look for an imam who knows and loves his din and follow him.
In the mosque of a certain quarter, namaz in jamaat can be performed only once by saying the adhan and the iqamat. But in mosques along roads and in mosques that do not have appointed imams and muazzins, namaz is performed with a new adhan and iqamat for each jamaat. A genie can be an imam. An angel cannot be an imam because an angel is not liable. An angel, a genie or a child can be part of the jamaat even if it is only a jamaat of one. When a person who is performing a supererogatory namaz follows a person who is performing the fard, both attain the blessing for a jamaat.
There are many savants who say that it is wajib to perform namaz in jamaat. According to the savants of Iraq (rahmatullahi ta’ala 'alaihim ajmain), it is sinful to omit a wajib even once without a good excuse. And according to the unanimity of savants, one becomes sinful if one makes it a habit to omit a wajib. But it is not sinful to omit a sunnat. It is mustahab for a person who is late for the jamaat in one mosque to try and catch a jamaat in another mosque.
It is not necessary for a sick or paralytic person, for a person whose one foot has been cut off, for an old or blind person who can not walk to go out for the jamaat. It is not necessary even if he (one of these people) has helpers and vehicles. Rain, mud, very cold weather and darkness are excuses, too. A strong wind is an excuse only at night. Fear of losing one’s possessions because of thieves or other reasons, a poor person’s fear of the person to whom he owes, having trouble with the gas in one’s stomach or bowels, one’s fear of a cruel person in regards to one’s life and property, a traveler’s fear of missing the vehicle, looking after a sick person, fear of missing the food which one longs for, and fear of missing an opportunity to learn knowledge of fiqh are excuses for not attending the jamaat. Also it is an excuse to know that the imam is a bidat holder or that he does not observe the principles of ablution, ghusl and namaz. A person who knows and observes these principles has precedence over others in being chosen as the imam. After this the one who reads the Qur’an with tajwid is preferable. It is not necessary to be a hafiz. If there are a few hafizes, the one who has more wara’ must be chosen. Wara’ means to avoid things that are doubtful (that might be sinful). After this, the one who is older must be preferred. The next qualities that are preferable in choosing the imam are: a good nature, a beautiful face, noble descent, a nice voice, and good clothes. If there are a few such people, the one who has lots of property and a high rank must be chosen. If these qualities are also common, a settled person becomes the imam for a safari one. If there cannot be an agreement about choosing the imam, the one chosen by the majority becomes the imam. While there is someone superior, it is unpleasant to choose someone else. But it is not sinful. So is the case with electing a commander or a governor. But in an election of Khalifa, it is sinful not to elect the most superior one. In a house or feast, the host or the one who is giving the feast becomes the imam regardless of choice. Or the person chosen by him becomes the imam. A tenant is the host in this respect. It is makruh for a disliked person to become the imam.
It is tahrimi makruh for a bidat holder to become the imam. An owner of a belief disagreeing with the belief of the Ahl as-Sunnat is called a la-Madhhabi. If a la-Madhhabi man disbelieves or doubts something clearly declared in the Qur’an and the hadiths, it will be an act of kufr (disbelief). And it will be bidat to give false interpretations to those indefinite facts that are not declared clearly. It is kufr to disbelieve the fact that the world was created and to say that it will go on as it has. It is bidat to disbelieve that believers will see Allahu ta’ala in Paradise. But it is a bidat originating from misunderstanding decisive proofs. Otherwise, if a person abhors the fact by saying, “It is impossible. My mind does not accept it,” he becomes a kafir. The hadith ash-Sharifs about bidat exist on the initial pages of the books Hadiqa and Bariqa and on the hundred and twenty-fifth page of the Persian book Ashi’at -ul-Lama’at. The ones existing in Ashi’at-ul-Lama’at have been transferred into our book Mazhariyya. The Ahl-i qibla, that is, a person who performs namaz, cannot be called a kafir unless he says or does something that causes disbelief. But a person who says or does something that is disagreeable with something that is declared clearly in the Qur’an and by hadiths and which Muslims have been believing for centuries, is called a kafir, even if he performs namaz and does all kinds of worships throughout his life. For example, if he says, “Allahu ta’ala does not know every tiny mote, the number of leaves, or secret things,” he becomes a kafir. A person who speaks ill about a Sahabi except Abu Bakr and 'Umar (radiallahu anhuma) for some religious reason becomes a bidat holder. A person who says mubah (permissible) about a haram does not become a kafir, if he says so sincerely depending on an ayat or a hadith. If he says so capriciously without depending on Nass (ayats and hadiths with clear meaning), he becomes a kafir. It is bidat to say that electing Abu Bakr and 'Umar for the caliphate was unjust. But it is an act of disbelief to say that they had no rights to become Khalifas.
A fatwa has been given that if a person who fulfills the conditions for being an imam does the duty of an imam for a wage or salary it is permissible to perform namaz behind him. It is written at the end of Halabi al-kabir that it is necessary to re-perform the namaz performed behind the imam who mispronounces or recites melodiously or performed before its time. [One must do one’s best that an imam who has the belief of the Ahl as- Sunnat be appointed to the office. This will prevent one who does not fulfill the conditions for being an imam and who is known to be a la-Madhhabi or a religion reformer from getting that position.]
It is tahrimi makruh for the imam to say the qiraat and the tasbihs beyond the measure prescribed by the sunnat when conducting the fard namaz, even if the jamaat want him to do so. It is tahrimi makruh for a woman to become the imam and lead the namaz for women. When there are no men it is not makruh for them to perform the namaz of janaza in jamaat. For if they perform it individually, the woman who performs it first will have performed the fard, and the ones who perform it later will have performed a supererogatory prayer. And it is makruh to perform the namaz of janaza as a supererogatory prayer. It is fard to perform the namaz of janaza at least once. If a woman becomes the imam for men in the namaz of janaza, the men must not perform it again. This is because only the woman’s namaz has been accepted and the fard has been completed by one person. If a woman becomes the imam for women, she stands in the middle of the first line. It is sinful for her to stand in front.
At home a man can be the imam for women who are his mahram. He cannot be the imam for women who are namahram to him. For it would be halwat. If there is another man or the imam’s mahram among the jamaat, the namahram women can join the jamaat. As in halwat, it is makruh for those mahram relatives who are related to the imam through milk (having been breastfed by the same mother) or through nikah to be young. Halwat does not occur in a mosque. A woman stands behind the imam, not by his side. If there is a man, the woman stands behind the man and performs namaz with the imam.
In Masjid al-Haram, it is best for the imam to stand in the Maqam-i Ibrahim. And, of course, you should not walk to the front lines lest you disturb the jamaat. (As all the jamaat stand up) to begin the fard, you can move to a vacant space in the front line. In the namaz of janaza the back lines are more blessed than the front lines. A person who finds the imam making the ruku’ stands in the last line lest he will miss the rakat. He should not walk to the front lines. If there is no place in the last line he must not stand alone even if he will miss the rakat. If there is an empty place in the first line and if there is no space available in the second line, you can make your way through the second line in order to reach the first line. In this case, it is not sinful to pass in front of the jamaat, that is, those who are performing namaz in the back.
If a man performing namaz in jamaat remains as long as one rukn in the same line with a woman who is following the same imam and if there is not a thick curtain or a pole more than one inch thick or an open space wide enough to accommodate one person between them, the man’s namaz becomes nullified. When a woman performs namaz in a line, only the namaz of the three men who are next to her or right behind her becomes nullified. If the one behind her is farther than nine feet away, his namaz does not become nullified. It is makruh for a man and a woman who are not following the same imam to perform namaz in the same line. When a man sees a woman by his side who is preparing to follow the imam, he must give her a warning with his hand to stand behind him. If she does not move back, the woman’s namaz will not be accepted. But the man’s namaz will not become nullified. If the woman who is in the same line is on a platform higher or lower than the average man’s height, there is no harm.
A person who cannot make the ruku’ or the sajdas cannot be the imam for a person who can make them. A person who is performing the supererogatory prayer cannot be the imam for some one who is performing the fard.
A person who is alsagh cannot be the imam for one who is not alsagh. An alsagh (lisper) is a person who pronounces the letter sin as se (which is pronounced like “th”). Also, a person who can not pronounce other letters correctly cannot be the imam for one who pronounces them correctly. It is fard for such people to exercise themselves day and night so as to be able to pronounce the letters correctly. If a person tries hard but still cannot pronounce them, his namaz will be acceptable. If he does not try to pronounce them, his namaz becomes fasid. If he performs his namaz alone while it is possible for him to perform it in jamaat by following an imam who pronounces the letters correctly, his namaz is not accepted because he has not pronounced the letters correctly. If there is an ayat with no letters that he cannot pronounce correctly, he must memorize it and a few others like it, and recite them in namaz. While there is an ayat that he can pronounce correctly, if he does not memorize it but recites one that he cannot pronounce correctly, his namaz will not be acceptable. Since it is necessary to say the Fatiha in every namaz, he must try to say it well. [As it is seen, if one letter is not said correctly the Qur’an al-karim will not be correct and the namaz will not be accepted. Because letters are not produced correctly in sounds sent through radios or loud-speakers, it is not right, not acceptable to read or listen to the Qur’an al-karim through them or to perform namaz with them; it is sinful.]
A person who makes masah on his mests or on a bandage can become the imam for a person who washes those limbs, and one who performs the fard can become the imam for one who is performing supererogatory prayer. It is written in Radd al-mukhtar that it is the same with all sunnats including the tarawih. When a person who is performing four rakats of the sunnat follows an imam who is performing the fard, he performs the namaz as if it were the fard namaz. Reciting the additional sura in the third and fourth rakats, which is wajib, becomes supererogatory now. A person who is performing a supererogatory namaz can become the imam for another person who is performing a supererogatory namaz.
A person going to perform the fard in jamaat has to intend by passing the thought “I am following the imam who is present” through his heart. He performs it together with the imam as though he were performing it alone. But, when standing he does not say a prayer, whether the imam says it silently or aloud. Only in the first rakat he says the Subhanaka. It is tahrimi makruh in the Hanafi Madhhab to recite the Fatiha sura behind the imam. It is fard in the Shafi’i Madhhab. In Maliki, on the other hand, it is tahrimi makruh as the imam recites it loud, and it is mustahab as the imam recites it silently. When the imam finishes saying the Fatiha aloud, he says “Amin” softly. He must not say it loudly. When the imam says, “Semi’ Allahu liman hamidah” while straightening up from the ruku’, he says, “Rabbana lakal hamd.” Then, he prostrates for the sajda together with the imam, saying, “Allahu akbar” while doing so. In the ruku’, in the sajdas, and while sitting, he says the prayers as he would if he were performing namaz alone.
A person who finds out that the imam is doing something that nullifies the namaz, performs the namaz again. If the imam remembers it or if something nullifying namaz happens while performing the namaz, the imam must immediately inform the jamaat. If he notices it after the namaz, he writes, tells or sends somebody to inform the ones he remembers in the jamaat. The ones who learn it have to perform the namaz again. Those who do not hear it will be pardoned. According to a narration and in the Shafi’i Madhhab, the imam does not have to inform the jamaat. If his ablution breaks while performing namaz, it is permissible for him to put somebody in his place by pulling on his shirt. Then he performs an ablution outside and completes the namaz by following his deputy. If he performs an ablution within the mosque, the deputy is not needed. If he leaves the mosque without assigning a deputy, the namaz becomes invalid if the jamaat are composed of more than one person.
The namaz of witr is performed in jamaat during Ramadan. It is performed individually at all other times.
It is makruh to perform the prayers of Raghaib, Bar’at and Qadr in jamaat. The namaz of Raghaib is a supererogatory namaz performed on the first Friday night of the blessed month of Rajab. It was established in 480 A.H. Many scholars have written that it is an unpleasant bidat. We must not think something is sunnat just because we see many people perform it.
If other people begin to perform the fard in jamaat in the presence of a person who is performing the same fard alone, if that person has not made the sajda of the first rakat he breaks his namaz by making salam to one side while standing and begins to follow the imam. If he has made the sajda of the first rakat, he makes the salam after completing two rakats in those fard prayers that have four rakats in them. If he has not made the sajda of the third rakat he breaks his namaz by making the salam to one side while standing and then joins the jamaat. If he has made the sajda of the third rakat he completes the four rakats. Then it is good for him to follow the imam and perform four rakats of the supererogatory prayer. But he cannot perform the late afternoon prayer (Asr) in jamaat in this manner. In the fard of the morning and evening prayers, he breaks the namaz even if he has made the sajda of the first rakat. Yet if he has made the sajda of the second rakat, he must complete the namaz. After that he does not perform the supererogatory prayer together with the imam.
If they begin to perform the fard or if the khutba of Friday prayer begins as he performs the sunnat, he does not break the namaz. He completes its two or four rakats. A person who has made the salam after performing two rakats of the sunnat of the early afternoon or Friday prayer completes it to four rakats by performing two more rakats after the fard. But he had better perform the entire four rakats again. If the namaz in jamaat begins while he is making qada, he does not break the namaz if he has to observe the tartib. The same applies to the Maliki Madhhab.
When the adhan is said it is tahrimi makruh for a person who is in the mosque to go out without a good excuse before performing the namaz in jamaat. It is a proper excuse for him to go to a certain mosque if it is his habit to go to the mosque of his master or some other religious master lest he will miss his lecture or to a mosque that is located where he works. Also, a person who has performed the fard alone before the jamaat can leave the mosque. Yet it is makruh to perform it alone. All of those with these excuses may not go out while the iqamat is being said. A person who has performed the fard alone performs the supererogatory prayer with the jamaat in the early afternoon and night prayers. It is wajib for a person who has performed any of the other three prayers alone to leave the mosque even while the namaz is being performed in jamaat. For it is a grave sin not to join the jamaat. If a person who has not performed the sunnat of morning prayer apprehends that he will miss even the final sitting posture of the namaz in jamaat if he performs the sunnat, he does not perform the sunnat, but immediately begins following the imam. If he estimates that he will be able to make the last sitting together with the jamaat he performs the sunnat quickly in the ante-room of the mosque. If there is no ante-room he performs it behind a pillar in the mosque. If there is not such an empty place, he does not perform the sunnat. For it is makruh to begin a supererogatory namaz while a fard namaz is being performed in jamaat. It is necessary to omit a sunnat in order not to commit a makruh. [Since it is necessary to omit even the sunnat of morning prayer in order not to commit a makruh, it must be understood that it is necessary to make qada of omitted fard prayers instead of performing the sunnat prayers]. A person who arrives in the mosque while the early afternoon or Friday prayer is being performed in jamaat does not perform the sunnat if he has the apprehension that he may be too late for the first rakat. He begins following the imam immediately. He performs the sunnat of the early afternoon prayer after the fard. It is not right to begin the sunnat and then break it by making the salam immediately after that and then begin following the imam or to make qada of the sunnat after the fard. For it is haram to break the namaz without a good excuse. Furthermore, the namaz of nazr can not be performed after the fard of morning prayer. Performing a sunnat prayer again which has been broken is not as important as performing the namaz of nazr. It is wajib to perform the supererogatory prayers of namaz again which have been broken. It is fard to perform again the broken fard prayers. [Uyun-ul-basair]. For, once you have started a supererogatory namaz it becomes wajib to complete it. A person who has not been able to perform morning prayer makes qada of it together with its sunnat before noon of that same day. But if he performs it after noon, he makes qada of the fard only. A person who arrives in the mosque during the performance of the fard of Friday or early afternoon prayer performs the first sunnat after the fard. A person who has not caught the ruku’ (of a rakat) has not performed that rakat together with the imam. A person who arrives when the imam is in the ruku’ makes his niyyat, says the takbir standing, joins the namaz, and immediately begins following the imam by bowing for the ruku’. If the imam straightens up from the ruku’ before the person has bowed for the ruku’, he has not caught the ruku’. Though he has not caught the rakat he has to make the sajdas together with the imam. If he does not do so his namaz does not become nullified. But he will have omitted a wajib. If a person has begun following the imam as the imam stands but has not bowed for the ruku’ together with the imam, it is acceptable if he makes the ruku’ alone after the imam and catches up with the imam in the sajda. Yet he is sinful because he has been late. It is tahrimi makruh to bow for the ruku’, to prostrate for the sajda or to get up from the sajda before the imam does.
[It is necessary to imitate the imam’s movements. It is not necessary to follow his voice. If a person who cannot see the imam imitates the movements of those who see the imam, he will have followed the imam. Since the imam’s takbirs and the actions of those who are following the imam signify the imam’s actions, it is permissible to imitate them. In order that people who can not see the imam will see the imam’s actions, it is not necessary to install television screens at various places in the mosque. Also, those who cannot hear the imam’s voice have to follow the actions of those who see the imam and the voices of muazzins. In existence of these facilities, to install television screens or amplifiers in mosques means to dislike the Shariat’s prescription and adapt the worships to own’s personal thoughts. This, in its turn, is not something a Muslim would do. So is the case with installing loudspeakers on minarets]. It is makruh for the imam to perform the final sunnat in the same place where he performed the fard. He should perform it after moving a little bit to the right or left of his former position. Also, it is makruh for him to sit to wards the qibla after namaz. If there is no one in the first line performing namaz towards the imam, he should sit facing the jamaat. If there is a person performing namaz, he should turn to his right or left. All these things are not makruh for the jamaat or for a person performing namaz alone. It is written before the subject concerning the adhan in the book Imdad that they should perform the final sunnat at some other place, particularly when they are back home. It is mustahab to undo the lines after the fard namaz.
While describing the namaz of witr, the book Mawqufat says: "If the imam does not do five things the jamaat do not do them, either:
1 - If the imam does not say the prayers of Qunut the jamaat do not say them, either.
2 - If the imam does not say the takbirs of 'Iyd the jamaat do not say them, either.
3 - If the imam does not sit in the second rakat of a namaz that has four rakats, the jamaat do not sit, either.
4 - If the imam does not make the sajda though he said an ayat of sajda, the jamaat do not make the sajda, either.
5 - If the imam does not make the sajda-i sahw the jamaat do not, either.
If the imam does four things the jamaat do not do them:
1 - If the imam makes more than two sajdas the jamaat does not do so.
2 - If the imam says the takbir of 'Iyd more than three times in one rakat the jamaat do not do so.
3 - If the imam says more than four takbirs in the namaz of janaza the jamaat do not do so.
4 - If the imam stands up for the fifth rakat the jamaat do not stand up. Instead, they wait for the imam, and they make the salam together.
There are ten things which the jamaat must do even if the imam does not do them:
1 - Raising the hands for the takbir of iftitah (beginning namaz).
2 - Saying the Subhanaka. According to the Imamayn, the jamaat do not say it, either.
3 - Saying the takbir when bowing for the ruku’.
4 - Saying the tasbihs in the ruku’.
5 - Saying the takbir when prostrating for the sajdas and when getting up from the sajdas.
6 - Saying the tasbihs in the sajda.
7 - Even if he does not say “Sami’ Allahu,” the jamaat say, “Rabbanalakal hamd.”
8 - Saying the Attahiyyatu up to the end.
9 - Making the salam at the end of namaz.
10 - During the 'Iyd of Qurban, saying the takbir right after making the salam after every one of the twenty-three fard prayers.
A masbuk, that is, a person who has not caught up with the imam in the first rakat, stands up after the imam has made the salam to both sides and makes qada of the rakats which he missed. He says the qiraats as if he were performing the first rakat, then the second, and then the third rakat. But he does the sitting postures as if he were performing the fourth, third, and second rakats, that is, as if he began with the last rakat. For example, a person who arrives during the last rakat of the night prayer stands up after the imam makes the salam, says the fatiha and the additional sura in the first and second rakats. However, he sits in the first rakat, but does not sit in the second rakat. Umdat-ul-Islam quotes from Fatawa-yi-Attabi: “If the Masbuk, i.e. person who has not caught up with he imam in the first rakat, finishes reciting the ‘At-tahiyyatu’ before the imam does at the final sitting posture, he reiterates the Kalima-i-shahadat until the imam makes the salam. He does not sit without reciting anything. It is haram to remain mute at places where it is necessary to recite during namaz. He does not say the Salawat, either. For the Salawat is recited at the final sitting posture. If he says the Salawat at the first sitting, sajda-i-sahw will be necessary. If he says ‘Allahumma salli’ during the Qada-i-ula, his namaz will become fasid.” A settled person may follow a musafir when making ada as well as when making qada. [See chapter 15!] A musafir may follow a settled person only when making ada of those fard prayers of namaz that have four rakats. If there should be any rakats which he has not caught, he completes them up to the fourth rakat after the imam makes the salam. For, if a musafir follows a settled imam within a prayer time his namaz changes to four rakats like the imam’s namaz. Therefore, because he would have to perform only two rakats of the prayers of qada, he could not follow a settled imam; otherwise, a person for whom it is fard to sit and re cite would have followed another person for whom it is supererogatory to sit and recite. It is writ ten in the 15th chapter how a settled person performs namaz behind a musafir imam. A person who misses one rakat of the namaz in jamaat has not performed that namaz in jamaat. But he will be given the blessings of the jamaat. If a person who misses the last rakat catches up with the imam during the tashahhud, he will be given the blessings of the jamaat. There are a lot of additional blessings in saying the takbir of iftitah together with the imam.
It is stated in Umdat-ul-Islam, “If a person arriving for the jamaat sees the imam bowing for the ruku’, he makes the Takbir standing and then bows for the ruku’. If he says the Takbir as he bows, his namaz will not be sahih. If the imam straightens up before this person has bowed, he has not caught up with the rakat.”
