Bismillahi Al-Rahmani Al-Rahim
The
Proper Way Of Approaching Other Madhhabs
al-salamu `alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa
barakatuhu
While the bulk of the following article concerns
Shafi`i fiqh, the first few pages of the article concerns the proper
way of approaching other madhhabs, and the husn al-zann we should
have when people slip.
Please note that I supplied the above
title. The article's original title appears below.
wa
al-salamu `alaykum
--musa
Bis-millah wa-l-hamdulillah dhi-l-qadim 'ani
l-jadid wa-hadana bi-nurihi l-'amim ila sirat al-mustaqim
wa-nusalli wa-nusallim 'ala rasulihi l-karim wa ba'd.
This
article is written in answer to the following question, for which
purpose it is divided into two readings: (a) the fiqhi rulings
relating to reciting the Fatiha as a Shafi'i Ma'mum [follower]
behind an Imam in an audible [Jahriyya] as opposed to an inaudible
[Sirriyya] prayer; and (b) a historical and doctrinal explanation for
the Qawl Qadim [First Position] as opposed to the Qawl Jadid [New
Position] of the Imam al-Mujtahid al-Shafi'i (may Allah be well
pleased with him!) as understood and accepted by the Shafi'i
school, after which this article is named: Tahqiq Qira'at
al-Fatiha min Tabyin Aqwal al-Qadima.
Allahumma
hidayatan li-s-sawab!
>Dear Respected Teachers,
[…]
I sent this question to the Shafi'i Fiqh
>forum and I also
wanted to send it [to] you as well. […]
>
>I
was reading the book Fiqh Al-Imam by the California
> based
Hanafi teacher, Shaykh Abdur-Rahman ibn Yusuf
>which
states the following:
> "Imam Shafi'i's popular view
is that it is necessary
> for the follower to recite Surat
al-Fatiha in both
> types of prayers – audible as well as
silent. This
> view, although being the popular one, is
not
> necessarily his final opinion. A careful study of
his
> works reveals this opinion to be his former view,
as
> Ibn Qudama states in his book al-Mughni (1:601).
The
> words of Imam Shafi'i, as relayed in his book
Al-Umm,
> inform us that it is not necessary for the
muqtadi to
> recite Sural [Surat] al-Fatiha in the audible
prayers;
> however, it should be recited in the silent
prayers.
>
> He writes:
> 'And we
say that the follower recite in every prayer
> performed
behind an imam, in which the imam recites in
> a
non-audible tone' (Kitab al-Umm 7:153 U) " p 66 of
>
Fiqh Al-Imam.
>
> Here are my questions. It
seems that this is not the
> current position of the
Shafi'i madhab (from such
> books as the Reliance and
Al-Maqasid) and it appears
> that this is one of the cases
where the fatwa lies
> upon Imam Shafi;i [Shafi'i's]
earlier position.
> 1.Shaykh Gibril Haddad writes in his
book on the
> Four Imams, "What is presently known as the
Shafi;i [Shafi'i]
> position refers to the New except in
approximately
> twenty-two questions, in which Shafi'i
scholars and
> muftis have retained the Old” (p 189) Can
you
> highlight or mention what these twenty-two
questions
> are?
> 2.How does one recite behind
the imam in an audible
> prayer? Is it better to recite at
the same time that
> the imam is reciting or wait for him
to completely
> finish the Fatiha (and then recite) ?
Should the
> imam pause between the fatiha and the second
surah to
> give the follower a chance to recite?
>
3.Is this position of Imam Shafi'i (as mentioned in
>
Al-Umm) a strong position within the madhab or is it
>
considered a weak position?
>
> Thank you for
taking the time to read this question. […]
I. As to the
First Reading:
The Qawl Mu'tamad [Relied Upon Position]
and the final word (to which there can be no adoptable alternative
position in this issue; found variously in our books as: shadh, wahin
and quwa'ilnot just weak but very weak, which means that to
follow this is to go beyond the standard of the Madhhab) as far as
the Shafi'is are concerned, with respect to the recitation of the
Fatiha in a jama'a [group] prayer, is that it is well known that it
is Wajib or Obligatory for the Ma'mum or the follower of the Imam
in either the inaudible or the audible prayers to recite his or her
Fatiha, in every rak'a [cycle of prayer], since this is a part of
the Rukn and integral to the Ma'mum's prayer. In the audible
prayers, it is Mandub [recommended] for the Imam to have a pause
[sakta] after reciting his Fatiha aloud, long enough for the Ma'mum
to recite his Fatiha.
However, before going into the
details of the above simple and straightforward fiqhi one-line answer
to your question, namely how should one practically recite behind the
Imam, that is to say, its kayfiyya [procedure], I would like to take
the opportunity here to address a number of general concerns relating
to the background of your question, particularly in relation to what
I had read of your narration of what the Hanafi author wrote on
behalf of our Madhhab. Those who want to go straight to the fiqhi
material should skip the following eight paragraphs.
As a
matter of rule, common sense and adab, one should not rely on
particular fiqhi judgements or opinions given or narrated by scholars
who are not of the same school. This is especially so, in matters of
furu', because the immense detail of the Shari'a is such that a
non-specialist (and even if someone is trained as a Shafi'i or has
read one or two Shafi'i texts but because of one's immense
knowledge and training in another school decides to adopt that other
school for one's 'amal, which means that in effect, that person
will have no practical and personal experience of being even a
Shafi'i 'awwamm) will end up getting lost and drowned by the many
conflicting views and opinions that are recorded in our books of
Fiqh. It is for this reason that we need living teachers to guide us
through this great variety of opinions, so we shall not be easily
fooled into following what seems only to our eyes to be 'stronger'
evidence or (may Allah save us from this path!) end up following what
is easier than what we should have done. Another danger for those who
do not know the 'ins and outs' of a particular school, its
methods, its rules, its Isnad and transmission and even its history,
is that more often than not they will fail to know where to begin and
what reference work should they rely on in order to come at a fiqhi
ruling set out by the many jurists of that particular school. I
suppose a typical example with regard to the Shafi'i school, and
one which the author of your book has demonstrated, is that one might
think it sufficient to refer back to the work of the founder of the
school, Imam al-Shafi'i himself (among whose monumental works on
Fiqh, only al-Umm is well known and easily available to (but
not readable or easily understandable by) the common man, while some
fiqhi works remain either unedited in manuscript form or have been
lost or have been destroyed; and among these are the Hujja and Imla'
Kabir (which is among his Iraqi works, except for parts of this
Imla'), Imla' Saghir, Amali, and the
accounts of his final views, as recorded by his students (the major
ones called the Mabsut:) al-Rabi' al-Muradi and al-Muzani
and al-Buwayti and al-Za'farani (in Iraq); (the minor ones called
the Mukhtasar: al-Muzani, al-Buwayti, Harmala, (may Allah be
pleased with all of them and for their spreading the school!), and
his vast collection of Fatwas out of a total of 113 works the Imam
has authored, according to the count of Qadi al-Marwarudhi). It is
not uncommon that we Shafi'is occasionally hear people claiming (in
our lands, for example; Shafi'i lands, no less) to be a Shafi'i
on account of having finished reading al-Umm! (The point here
is that one cannot get the full picture without having access to all
of the Imam's known works of the Jadid, not to mention the unknown
ones.) As I am sure the Hanafi author of your book would understand,
like the Hanafis, we too have specific genres and different types of
books written for specific functions: basic [Fard 'Ayn] textbooks
for the public, training manuals for would-be jurists, encyclopaedic
references, khilaf literatures, source books on evidence, works on
our methods, and biographical information on our jurists and so on.
Despite its name, al-Umm is certainly the last place and the
most unreliable work to look at in order to find the practiced (and
that is what matters; the 'amal, not the theory) fiqhi rulings of
our school.
Instead, as our teachers keep reminding us,
it is the later scholars that update the earlier ones, and for that
reason it is only right that we have to start, as a beginner in the
school would, from the works closest to our time and move backwards
in time. It is not an accident of history that among the most basic
Shafi'i training manuals today are the likes of Hashiyat Fath
al-Qarib and the I'anat al-Talibin, works written in the
last century, and the next step up in the curriculum are works
written a further 600 years earlier by Imam al-Nawawi (may Allah be
pleased with him!), for example, and so on and so forth until of
course, its source and foundation, such as the (and yet another
non-accident of history for which its title is aptly named:) al-Umm.
Therefore, I do hope that you now understand that to read al-Umm
in order to arrive at a hukm shar'i for our school is not too
different from reading the unrefined scriptural proofs or the primary
texts and sources, that is to say, the Qur'an and the Hadith, in
order to reach a legal judgement (which the non-specialists and the
non-initiated do not have any right to do, because of the possible
mistakes and misunderstandings that will be caused). Those who take
the short route (whether unintentionally or with good intentions)
without consulting living teachers and think that 'what they read
is what they get' will most certainly deprive themselves of the
'behind the scenes' information that is in most cases not
recorded on paper, or rather not recordable. This, as I said earlier,
is due in part to the immense amount of data and comprehensive detail
that our Sacred Law encompasses and has to offer, and in part to the
sophistication of how our fiqh is constructed and is to be understood
(even the lughawi or lexical meaning of 'fiqh' is "al-fahmu mA
daqqa” or 'profound and deep understanding'), for it does not
only make use of scriptural proofs (that which you think you can see)
but it takes into account also of the other, 'non-scriptural' yet
also 'canonical' proofs, namely, Ijma' [consensus] and Qiyas
[analogy; including 'aql and reasoning], guarded and understood by
the living representatives.
The same goes for works that
fall under 'Ilm Khilaf [comparative fiqh] such as the work relied
upon by the Hanafi author of your book when discussing this issue,
the Mughni of the respected Hanbali jurist, Ibn Qudama. Any
beginners in Fiqh should know that these works cannot be relied upon
to come to a furu' ruling unlike a work of proper Fiqh (and in
nearly all systematic Shafi'i madrasat, students are certainly not
allowed to read such works during the first 3-4 years of their
formative education) because a work on 'Ilm Khilaf is not the place
to look for the definitive, reliable and practiced positions of any
school. Instead, it is the simple matn and the basic textbooks of
'Ilm Fiqh (such as what you already have, the two works available
so far in perfect English, those that should be relied upon by
English-speaking Shafi'is, the Reliance and the Maqasid;
and even for non-Shafi'is when it comes to the Hamish of the former
book). Do not be fooled by their size: although they are condensed
textbooks, they will almost certainly contain the rulings needed by
both the scholar and the public. On the other hand, works on 'Ilm
Khilaf are only useful consolidated reference tools; they are almost
always used by scholars of a particular fiqh school to find the
positions of the other schools (as a general indication), and should
not be used by the public as is prevalent today. In fact, as our
teachers used to remind us: works on 'Ilm Khilaf, if not used
appropriately may result in divisive khilaf of the Umma (the ta'alluq
of its name, ma sha Allah!). Perhaps, it is among the signs of the
fitna of our times that virtually all modern Islamic universities are
offering classes in 'fiqh muqarana' rather than proper Fiqh, and
not only that, to students who have never been trained or perhaps
have never even read a single short work on 'Ilm Fiqh.
I
do not have access to the book you are referring to (i.e., Fiqh
al-Imam), but from what you've written about what the author said I
have to point out that there are a number of worrying inaccuracies in
his reading of the Mughni. I do not think that we will have
space to go into the details of this (lest we go even farther from
what you want), but what Ibn Qudama in fact did was to present the
two conflicting opinions of our Imam, the Qawl Qadim and the Qawl
Jadid (without making it known to his readers which one is which).
[Ibn Qudama, Mughni, 2:259-260]. As it is the expected practice with
any good works on 'Ilm Khilaf, Ibn Qudama certainly did not perform
any Tarjih [assessment] in order to judge which one of the two
conflicting qawls of our Imam is in fact the Imam's final position
or the stronger one or the correct one there; for Ibn Qudama knew
that he has no right to perform such a procedure (because he was a
Hanbali and not a Shafi'i specialist). I could not see how your
author could have reached a conclusion which Ibn Qudama did not,
based upon reading his source: "A careful study of his
[al-Shafi'i's] works reveals this opinion [i.e., that it is Wajib
to recite the Fatiha behind the Imam in every rak'a; namely, the
Qawl Mu'tamad of our school] to be his former view [I understand
this as Qawl Qadim; if this is what the Hanafi author meant, then he
is way off the mark], as Ibn Qudama states in his book al-Mughni.”
The Hanafi author hoped to corroborate his 'careful study' (which
turns out unfortunately to be gravely wrong) from a work on 'Ilm
Khilaf. What he should have done then was to look at what Imam
al-Nawawi or some other later Shafi'i jurists or even what the
Reliance or the Maqasid had to say regarding this issue
in order to 'corroborate' his findings; isn't a Shafi'i a
better spokesperson for the school than any outsider? Even if it be
granted here (which it is not the case) that the Qawl Qadim is what
he said it was, the Hanafi author should have been more careful about
his assumptions regarding the strict and thoroughly systematised
terminologies used in our school. The Imam's 'former view' does
not automatically mean it is rejected, because, as students of
Shafi'i fiqh will have learned in the course of their studies, not
all of the Qawl Qadim are rejected, for there are a handful of them
which were made strong by a number of the immediate successors of the
Imam and by other early Shafi'i jurists (called the Mujtahid
al-Tarjih; the Assessors). These supposedly rejected opinions (as the
reader will learn in greater detail in the second part of our
article) were retained or rehabilitated, so to speak. Notwithstanding
that, I must repeat here, in case readers are lost in this mental,
verbal and bracketed snarl, the ruling that it is Wajib for the
Ma'mum to recite the Fatiha whether in the audible or inaudible
prayers in every rak'a is not a Qawl Qadim of Imam al-Shafi'i.
What is worrying is the Hanafi author's following
statement: "Imam Shafi'i's popular view [?ambiguous term
here; does he mean the Imam's or the school's?] is that it is
necessary for the follower to recite Surat al-Fatiha in both types of
prayers – audible as well as inaudible. This view, although being
the popular one [I take this to mean, Qawl Mu'tamad of our school],
is not necessarily his [i.e., al-Shafi'i's] final opinion [I take
this to mean, Qawl Jadid].” What does he mean by "NOT
NECESSARILY his final opinion”? It could be that he is
conflating the Imam on the one hand, and the Madhhab, on the other
hand (remembering of course, that the Imam is not the whole sum of
the Madhhab, and that what is followed is the collective effort of
thousands of pious scholars, not just of one man). (Another way of
thinking about this is to ask: if it is already the 'popular view'
held by living jurists, is that not good enough for the Hanafi
author?) Nevertheless, contrary to the Hanafi author's judgement,
the Qawl Mu'tamad of our school is indeed the Imam's final
position, since the opinion that "it is necessary for the follower
to recite Surat al-Fatiha in both types of prayers – audible as
well as silent,” is the Qawl Jadid of our Imam. Understandably,
reading al-Umm for non-Shafi'i specialists is never going to
be an easy task and the following conclusions, I fear, are plainly
wrong and must be corrected: "The words of Imam Shafi'i, as
relayed in his book Al-Umm, inform us that it is not necessary for
the muqtadi [the standard term used in our school for a follower is
Ma'mum, not as I assume here, the common term used by Hanafis] to
recite Sural [Surat] al-Fatiha in the audible prayers; however, it
should be recited in the silent prayers. He writes: 'And we say
that the follower recite in every prayer performed behind an imam, in
which the imam recites in a non-audible tone' (Kitab al-Umm 7:153
U).” [A more faithful translation would be: "Whereas [reading
waw-Hal; the Sahib al-Hal is the Hanafi position presented in the
previous sentence] we say, "In every prayer made behind the Imam
while the Imam's recitation is inaudible, he [i.e., the follower;
wara' al-Imam from the previous sentence] recites.” [al-Shafi'i,
al-Umm, 7:256]
The qawl which he quoted is the Qawl Qadim,
which by the way, is NOT from al-Umm 'proper', but is from
an independent text that has always been transmitted together with
al-Umm (this work is like an 'appendix' to the mother
book), called Kitab Ikhtilaf 'Ali wa-'Abdullah Ibn Mas'ud;
while at the same time, the central chapters of al-Umm clearly
record that the Qawl Jadid is as follows: "al-Shafi'i says: It is
obligatory [Wajib] for those praying alone or in a group to recite
the Umm al-Qur'an [i.e., the Fatiha] in every rak'a; [a way]
other than this does not suffice [i.e., because it is the minimum or
a Rukn of the prayer].” [al-Shafi'i, al-Umm, 1:210].
Ma
sha Allahu, kana! At first I was taken aback (and not a
non-accidental accident as it turns out) that your Hanafi author,
innocently quoted and relied upon an opinion of our Imam that is
taken from his Kitab Ikhtilaf 'Ali wa-'Abdullah Ibn Mas'ud,
which was, in fact, a work concerning the Hanafi schoolAllah is
merciful indeed! In this work, our Imam assessed some of the
conflicting positions between the Hanafis and the two Sahabi which
their school relied upon. It is also known by the more common title,
Kitab Ma Khalafa al-'Iraqiyyun 'Aliyyan wa-Abdullah or its
shorter title, Kitab 'Ali wa-'Abdullah. This work is among
our Imam's works on 'Ilm Khilaf (note please, not 'Ilm Fiqh
proper; and indeed our Imam is the Wadi' [founder] of this highly
specialised science as he is also the Wadi' of 'Ilm Usul
[principles and methodology of the Law], in the same way that Imams
al-Ash'ari and al-Maturidi were 'founders' of the science of
Tawhid [theology], and the 'Arif al-Junayd with 'Ilm Tasawwuf,
and the Qadi al-Ramhurmuzi and the Hafiz al-Hakim with the science of
Mustalahat al-Hadith [technical terminologies of Hadith], and Abu
l-Aswad al-Du'ali with Arabic Grammar [Nahw], and along with the
other Wadi'un of this Umma (may Allah be well pleased with all of
them and reward their services to this Umma!). His other works on
Khilaf include the Kitab Ikhtilaf Abi Hanifa wa-Ibn Abi Layla,
Kitab al-Radd 'ala al-Shaybani, Ibtal al-Istihsan,
Sayr al-Awza'i, Sayr al-Waqidi, and the
controversial, Kitab Ikhtilaf Malik wa-l-Shafi'i. Shafi'i
scholars are fully aware that many of the positions found in
al-Shafi'i's Khilaf works belong to Qawl Qadim.
Now
that we have reached the end of what I have to say regarding the
obvious mistakes that needed to be corrected by the (I'm sure) well
meaning Hanafi author (and this was done so that you, as a Shafi'i
follower, will not be confused in thinking that what we indeed do and
act upon today and everyday when we pray in a mosque is not something
that is not the final position of our Imam), then, I must here make
it also clear to you that this one case of inaccuracy of that Hanafi
author should not lead you to have su' al-zann of the author and
mistrust anything that is sound and correct from his book. It is rare
nowadays to find books defending a Madhhab (as I assume from its
title this one is doing) and that is already a baraka for the
majority of Muslims who do follow one, whatever their tariqa to Allah
isit is just that I feel disappointed here, at least in so far
as the Hanafi author did not get his facts right with regard to the
ruling of our school on this matter. (I am just wondering here (and
please do not take this seriously but only as a kind 'jest'):
since the book is by a Hanafi author, and the title is Fiqh al-Imam
(and I'm assuming about Imam al-Mujtadhid Abu Hanifa (may Allah be
well pleased with him”)), what are you doing then reading a book on
Hanafi fiqh and to end up revealing scholars' dirty laundry!). It
would be reasonable and understandable, after all, for one to expect
a good Hanafi or a Shafi'i scholar, being eager to justify their
fiqhi positions, even if it means, occasionally, such as our case
here that wrong conclusions were reached. In this case, the Hanafi
author should immediately be excused and his mistakes must be
overlooked, since he was a Hanafi scholar, and not a Shafi'i
spokesman. That is why the Nasiha of our fiqh teachers will forever
remain sound, which it all boils down to: if you need to ask a furu'
question or rely on a furu' judgement about something relating to
your life, then you should know better than to rely on someone who is
clearly not a representative of your own school. Even if a scholar is
someone 'famous' today, giving out Fatwas here and there, on TV
and radio, if he is unable to say out loud with which of the four
Sunni schools he is affiliated, then think hard before accepting his
judgements; for confusion and fitna will result from his
answers.
The Qawl Mu'tamad of our school is
unequivocally stated by Imam al-Nawawi in his Minhaj (it is,
by the way, al-Nawawi's Qawl Sahih [Sound Position]):
"The
Fatiha is obligatory in every rak'a, except the rak'a of Masbuq
[for the meaning of this term, see below].” (In spite of this short
and concise expression, it contains more details than the various
English statements I have offered above concerning our Qawl Mu'tamad;
in these few words, the complete ruling of our school is present and
is potentially intelligible to us: wa-tata'ayyanu l-fAtiHatu kulla
rak'atin illA rak'ata masbUqin.) [al-Nawawi, Minhaj,
9].
Finally, we come to the heart of the article,
namely with regard to your fiqhi question, (question no. 2): "How
does one recite behind the imam in an audible prayer? Is it better to
recite at the same time that the imam is reciting or wait for him to
completely finish the Fatiha (and then recite)? Should the imam pause
between the fatiha and the second surah to give the follower a chance
to recite?”
It is Mandub, Sunna or recommended for the
Imam to have a pause after reciting the Fatiha aloud [jahr], long
enough for the Ma'mum to finish reciting the Fatiha. There is no
khilaf in the school regarding this rule. The meaning of 'pause'
here is for the Imam not to recite anything aloud but to recite
instead to himself [sirr]. During the 'sakta' period for the
Imam, it is Sunna for him either to busy himself with reciting some
verses from the Qur'an (while the Ma'mum recites his Fatiha) or
to recite a supplication [Du'a], and some also allow Dhikr (such as
Subhan Allah). According to our school, this is one of the six
instances of sakta requested (but not required) in our five daily
prayers. The most complete discussion of this, both for scholars and
public, is by Imam al-Bajuri (may Allah be pleased with
him!):
(Some useful technical terms here (all of which are
recited in Arabic):
Taharrum [opening "Allahu Akbar”; or
the Takbirat al-Ihram];
Tawajjuh [opening supplication; or
also technically called the Du'a Iftitah or Istiftah];
Ta'awwudh
[the words, "I seek refuge in Allah from the accursed
Devil”];
Basmala [the words, "In the name of Allah, Most
Merciful and Compassionate”];
Fatiha [the opening sura of
the Qur'an; also known in our books as Umm al-Qur'an];
Amin
[the words, "Ameen”; also known technically as Ta'min];
Sura
[any other verses other than the Fatiha];
Takbir al-Ruku'
[saying "Allahu Akbar” during the movement from standing to
bowing, while raising one's hands in the process, i.e., a type of
Takbir al-Intiqal].
"It is recommended [Mandub] to have
a slight pause: (1) between the Tawajjuh and the Ta'awwudh; (2)
just as it is recommended [to pause] between the Taharrum and the
Tawwajjuh, (3) between the Ta'awwudh and the Basmala, (4) between
the Fatiha and the Amin, (5) between the Amin and the Sura, and (6)
between the Sura and the Takbir al-Ruku'. These are the six pauses
that are recommended in a prayer. The length of all of those (pauses)
is saying the words, "Subhan Allah”; except for the one between
the Amin and the Sura [i.e., the fifth pause], with respect to the
Imam in the audible prayers, to the extent of the Ma'mum's
recitation of the Fatiha. It is [also] recommended for the Imam to be
occupied there with reciting the Qur'an or with saying a Du'a to
himself [sirr]; but reciting the Qur'an is better [Awla]. So the
meaning of 'pause' there is not reciting aloud, for otherwise the
pause would not in effect be requested in the prayer [meaning that
the pause is not a 'real pause', one that is devoid of
recitation; Fa'ida note for students: among the legal
proof-construction [Istidlal] of this sakta is the analogy [Qiyas]
with the sakta of the Imam awaiting the second group (and the
succeeding third or fourth, if applicable) in the second rak'a of
Salat al-Khawf or the Prayer of Peril].” [al-Bajuri, Hashiya,
1:166].
The only exception to this rule, when it is not
recommended for the Imam to pause allowing for his Ma'mum to recite
the Fatiha, is when the Imam knows that the Ma'mum will not be able
to hear him, such as the Ma'mum being deaf [cf. Ibn al-'Imad,
Qawl Tamm, 1:70].
However, since this pause is not a
requirement but a mere recommendation for the Imam (Shafi'i Imams
should note this, as it is a sign of Ihsan in their prayer), what
should the Ma'mum do then if the Imam does not pause? There is
tafsil in this hukm. The following Kayfiyyat and examples [suwar] are
drawn from one of our important manuals, Sayyid al-Bakri's
commentary on the Fath al-Mu'in, the I'anat al-Talibin,
and a reliable work of the school dedicated to the group prayer, Ibn
al-'Imad's famous al-Qawl al-Tamm fi Ahkam al-Ma'mum
wa-l-Imam. (Since the I'anat is the main source [2:32-41,
passim], citations to it will only be made whenever a text is being
translated; however the Qawl Tamm will be referred to when it
contains a point not mentioned in the former textbook.)
Case
1: In the case where the Imam does not pause, the next step down (one
that is far from ideal) is for the Ma'mum to recite the Fatiha
while the Imam recites the Sura (and reciting the Fatiha here is an
exemption from the general rule; see the discussion concerning the
school's evidence below). It is still recommended [Mandub] for the
Ma'mum to recite the Fatiha after the Imam has finished his Fatiha
(and this is known technically as Ta'khir al-Fatiha [delaying the
Fatiha] by our scholars), even if it means reciting one's Fatiha
over that of the Imam's Sura.
Case 2: The scenario
furthest removed from Ihsan is when the Ma'mum recites the Fatiha
for no good reason while the Imam is reciting the Fatiha.
Nevertheless, there is no harm [la ba's] doing so and it is the
minimum fiqhi ruling in this matter.
However, in the case
when the Ma'mum thinks [zann] that either (a) the Imam will only
recite the Fatiha (without reciting the Sura) or (b) the Imam will
not pause for him to recite the Fatiha or (c) the Imam's habit is
to recite very short Suras or (d) the Imam is fast in his recitation,
or there is something else that will cause the time remaining after
the Imam's Fatiha to be so short that the Ma'mum thinks that it
will not be possible for him to complete the Fatiha before the Imam
bows (he will have this knowledge, for instance, after experiencing
what happened to the Ma'mum in example 1 below, where during the
first rak'a he had to lag behind his Imam in order to complete the
Fatiha), then the Ma'mum should recite the Fatiha while the Imam is
reciting the Fatiha, so that he can keep up with the requirement of
Mutaba'a [following closely] in a group prayer (i.e., the seventh
condition [shart] of Qudwa [following the Imam] in the Fath
al-Wahhab).
This is because, unlike in example 1 below,
when the unsuspecting Ma'mum was waiting for the Imam to pause so
he could recite his Fatiha, the Ma'mum (in the second rak'a, for
instance) had knowledge of the possibility that if he waited until
the Imam finished the Fatiha, he can lag behind the Imam again this
time if he does not recite the Fatiha while the Imam is reciting the
Fatiha. In this case, however, he does not have a valid excuse
['udhr] to lag behind the Imam (while the Ma'mum in example 1 did
have, because he lacked this knowledge), and he may be considered a
negligent [Muqassir] Ma'mum (see example 3 (b) below) if he waits
until the Imam finishes reciting the Fatiha.
There is
further tafsil in this rule. If the Ma'mum is a Muwafiq (see below
for definition) or he thinks that he will be Muwafiq, then it is
Mandub or recommended for him to recite the Fatiha with the Imam
(only if he has good reason, that is to say, this knowledge; whatever
the case, if it turns out that he is a Muwafiq he will not be
negligent). (This is what is meant by Imam al-Ramli's statement
that it is Mustahabb to recite with the Imam when one has this
knowledge; al-Ramli, Nihaya, 2:231). If the Ma'mum is a Masbuq
(again, definition is below) or knows that he might be a Masbuq based
on the experience of his previous rak'a, then it is Wajib for him
to recite the Fatiha with the Imam (because in this case, he will be
negligent). (Only for students of Fiqh, lest you confuse yourselves:
the Ma'mum who thinks that he will have to perform Mufaraqa [to
intend to break off from following the Imam and then do so] in order
not to invalidate his prayer (i.e., upon reaching the lag-limit for
the Masbuq or the Ma'mum without 'udhr, namely, 2 long integrals
[Rukn Tawila]) must recite the Fatiha with the Imam, if he wants to
be in the group prayer.) (That is what is meant by Imam
al-Bujayrimi's statement, that of the five types of Muqarana or
Musawaqa [action performed simultaneously with the Imam], the type
that is Wajib, is to recite the Fatiha when one has this knowledge;
al-Bujayrmi, Hashiya, 2:351; cf. Ibn Hajar, Tuhfa, 3:187).
This
case no. 2 (that the Ma'mum can recite the Fatiha together with the
Imam's Fatiha (i.e., Musawaqa or Muqarana) or even to precede him
before the Imam finishes his own Fatiha [Musabaqa]) is allowed
because preceding the Imam in Rukn Qawli [Spoken Integral] is not as
serious as preceding him in the Rukn Fi'li [Active Integral]. It
does not mean however, that it is not altogether disliked, since
whenever the phrase 'no harm' is used in our school, the
technical meaning of Khilaf Awla or 'better not to do' is
understood; in this case, although it is better not to do this, the
prayer is still valid.
It is the practice of our scholars
that whenever this issue is being mentioned, they will usually bring
up a conflicting position within the school (which is not the Qawl
Mu'tamad), namely that if the Ma'mum has somehow preceded the
Imam's Fatiha, then it is Wajib to repeat the Fatiha (while the
Imam is still reciting the Fatiha or after the end of the Imam's
Fatiha; doing the latter is better). (While the Qawl Mu'tamad is
for the Ma'mum merely [Mandub] to repeat his Fatiha.) Because of
this, the Muta'akhkhir jurists in the school consider the original
rule [al-Asl] for case 2 to be that of Khilaf Awla. [cf. Ibn
al-'Imad, Qawl Tamm, 1:73]. It is in deference to these
differences, that we have the ruling in the school that to delay the
Ma'mum's Fatiha until after the Imam's (i.e., the Ta'khir
al-Fatiha) is a recommended act (as long as the Ma'mum expects to
recite the Fatiha during the Imam's pause for him or during the
Imam's recitation of the Sura).
(The following is
something special for very bright students. This is Ibn Hajar's
rundown of the legal bases underlying that furu' judgement and is
full of meaning and timely. So ta'ammal and think carefully, and
seek out and understand their 'ilal!
"For it is known
that the cause [mahall] for the recommendation that the Ma'mum
delay his [recitation] of the Fatiha is the Ma'mum's expectation
that the Imam will pause after the Fatiha long enough for (the
recitation of the Fatiha) or his expectation that the Imam will
recite a Sura long enough for (the recitation of the Fatiha). On the
other hand, the cause for the recommendation that the Imam pause is
that he does not know whether the Ma'mum is reciting the Fatiha
with him or else he cannot judge [where the Ma'mum is in] the
recitation of the Fatiha.” [Ibn Hajar, Tuhfa, 3:187]. So the safest
thing for the Imam to do is to pause after the Fatiha, and likewise,
for the Ma'mum to delay his Fatiha, unless they have conferred
before the prayer and know where the other stands! This is the
optimal ruling and the peak and their Adab.)
In sum, if
for some good reason, the Ma'mum does not think that he will be
able to recite the Fatiha during the the Imam's recitation of the
Sura, then to recite the Fatiha with the Imam will be an exception to
the original hukm of Khilaf Awla as we have seen with the case of the
Ma'mum in case 2. If this happens, and the Ma'mum decides to
recite the Fatiha while the Imam is reciting the Fatiha, then it is
best if he can start his Fatiha only after the Imam has started his
so that he does not precede the Imam in the recitation of the Fatiha,
just like in the Rukn Fi'li, and only Allah knows best!
Examples
that may arise:
Note that in the following examples, the
status of Muwafiq is assumed for the Ma'mum. (It is important to
mention here that in discussions concerning group prayer, it is
crucial to identify the status of the Ma'mum; because whenever a
Ma'mum's status is mentioned, for example in our case, Muwafiq,
its opposite status, Masbuq, may have a different ruling. Doing this
will avoid ambiguity when reporting a fiqhi ruling concerning the
group prayer, because very different rules will arise from the two
statuses.)
When in a group prayer, Subh or Tarawih, a
Ma'mum is in either one of these two statuses. A quick definition
of Muwafiq and Masbuq is in order then.
A Muwafiq [as a
one word term we can use, 'current'] is the Ma'mum who catches
up with the Imam during the standing position [Qiyam] and soon enough
for him to finish reciting the Fatiha in keeping with the length of
the average recitation [qira'at mu'tadala] according to what is
customary ['urf] by the public.
(Note, therefore, that
the length of the average recitation (not too 'fast' and not too
'slow') is neither according to the Imam's recitation nor the
Ma'mum's.)
A Masbuq [a one-word term would be 'late']
is the Ma'mum who did not catch up with the Imam during the
standing position soon enough for him to finish reciting the Fatiha
in keeping with the length of the average recitation according to
what is customary by the public.
It is therefore possible
for the Ma'mum's status to change between being a Muwafiq and a
Masbuq at any time during any one of the four rak'as of a prayer;
even as the Asl is being a Muwafiq. However, it is usually the case
that if one begins the prayer with the Imam from the start,
coinciding with the Imam's opening Takbir, the Ma'mum will be a
Muwafiq (unless of course in very rare cases when the Imam's
recitations are just way too fast (which is very bad) to the extent
that the total length of the Qiyam falls short of the 'average
recitation' the public takes to finish the Fatiha, whether the
Ma'mum recited the Fatiha or not, or whether the Imam recited a
Sura or not, whether the Imam did pause or not, or whether the Imam
recited the preliminary Mandub readings or not). On the other hand,
it is usually the case that if the Ma'mum joined the prayer late
such as while the Imam is halfway through reciting Surat al-Kafirun
in the first rak'a, the Ma'mum will be a Masbuq. Again, to
contrast this with the case of the Ma'mum who joined the prayer
late but this time while the Imam is about to begin reciting Surat
al-Duha, then the Ma'mum will most likely be a Muwafiq. All of
this, of course, depends ultimately on whether the Ma'mum is able
to catch up with that 'average recitation' (i.e., the common
denominator in arithmetic, so to speak or the Hadd al-Awsat [Middle
Term] for students of logic or Mantiq!). In case one is in doubt
[shakk] over one's status, whether one is a Muwafiq or Masbuq, then
the more precautionary [Ihtiyat] position is to assume that one is a
Muwafiq and as it turns out, finish reciting the Fatiha. [Ibn Hajar,
Tuhfa, 3:177].
The offshoot here is that if the Ma'mum
is considered a Muwafiq, then he will have a valid excuse or 'udhr,
like a slow reciter [bati' al-qira'a] would, to lag behind the
Imam in order to finish reciting his Fatiha and thereafter following
the Imam by default [Qudwa Hukmiyya]. (The term Qudwa Hukmiyya is
from Ibn al-'Imad (may Allah be pleased with him!); [Ibn al-'Imad,
Qawl Tamm, 1:33].) The hukm for the Masbuq, on the other hand, is
that he does not have a valid excuse to lag and he must therefore
follow the Imam to the letter, so to speak [i.e., Qudwa Haqiqiyya].
A quick example of Qudwa Haqiqiyya is the case of praying
behind the 'way too fast' Imam above so that when the Ma'mum
stands from his Sujud or the First Tashahhud (note that one must
leave the Tashahhud in this case, even if not finished, in order to
prevent oneself from becoming negligent), he finds that the Imam is
either about to go into bowing or have already bowed (therefore, not
catching up with that 'average recitation' with the Imam while
standing); in this case, it is Wajib for the Ma'mum to bow with the
Imam and the former is entitled to (and must) skip the Fatiha (but
before the Imam bows, whatever one can recite of the Fatiha, one
recites as much as possible). The Imam, in this case, will be
responsible for his Fatiha (and this is the only case (it includes
the subcase, Ziham [overcrowding], discussed in Bab al-Jumu'a) when
the school allows the Ma'mum to omit reciting the Fatiha in a
prayer). When he bows with the Imam, even when the Masbuq's Fatiha
is not finished, he has caught that rak'a. If he does not bow with
the Imam and the Masbuq persists on finishing the Fatiha (or if he
manages to finally bow but does not manage a Tama'nina [repose]
with the bowing), and during the course of that the Imam straightens
up [I'tidal] from his bowing position (whereas if the Imam is
already going down into Sujud (while the Masbuq has not yet bowed),
the Ma'mum's prayer is invalidated), then, he will have missed
that rak'a and will need to replace it when the Imam ends the
prayer. It is possible for this to happen in every rak'a if one
happens to pray behind an Imam such as this. (Also, if one comes to
the prayer late, that is to say, after the opening Takbir (and it is
not necessarily the case that he will be a Masbuq here), the it is
more precautionary to omit the preliminary Mandub readings and one
should begin the prayer immediately with the Fatiha in order to avoid
being negligent as in example 3 (b) below; Ibn Hajar, Tuhfa, 3:181
and 3:176).
On the other hand, those who have Qudwa
Hukmiyya are permitted, in order to finish their Fatiha, to lag
behind the Imam up to three long integrals, namely, up to the second
Sujud (if the Ma'mum is still standing), and this is not including
the two short integrals (namely, the I'tidal and the Julus [sitting
between the two prostrations]). (Note for students reading the Qawl
Tamm: what Ibn al-'Imad means when he says a lag of five Rukns
is the three long ones (Ruku', 1st Sujud, and 2nd Sujud) plus the
two short ones (I'tidal and Julus); Ibn al-'Imad, Qawl Tamm,
1:33.) It goes without saying, that the three long integrals too do
not include the Istiraha [sitting of rest after the 2nd Sujud before
standing] and any of the Tashahhud [testification of faith].
So
if the Muwafiq catches up with his Imam within the limits of these
three long integrals, then he will have caught the rak'a also. An
extreme example is, before the Imam sits for the Final Tashahhud, the
Muwafiq has already bowed. This is so when the length of the
Muwafiq's lag has not yet gone into the fourth long Rukn. However,
in the case that it does, such as, the Imam is already in the second
Qiyam reciting the Fatiha, while the Muwafiq is still in his first
Qiyam finishing his Fatiha, the Ma'mum's prayer will be
invalidated if he does not do either one of two choices here: (1) the
Ma'mum omits from finishing his Fatiha and immediately follows
where the Imam is (therefore, in this choice, he has to repeat his
Fatiha for this new rak'a); and after the Imam finishes with
Salams, he has to stand up and perform the missing rak'a; or (2)
the Ma'mum must intend to and break off from following the Imam
(i.e., Mufaraqa) at that point, and thereafter, the Ma'mum would
continue with his prayer alone until he finishes it (thereby, in this
choice, he will have to finish reciting the Fatiha). If the Ma'mum
fails to make his choice by the time the Imam is in the fourth Rukn
while he is still in the first, his prayer is invalidated (whereas,
there would be no harm if the Imam's movement coincides with that
of the Ma'mum's such as, when the Ma'mum is moving to the
bowing position and at the same time, the Imam is moving to either
the Qiyam or the Tashahhud).
This is because there is a
special dispensation for the Muwafiq slow reciters in our school as
well as for other Muwafiqs with a valid excuse, according to which
the rules of lagging behind the Imam with respect to the Masbuq are
considerably different, in that the slow reciter's Qudwa status
with the Imam is longer than the Masbuq before the former is
considered to have missed a rak'a or even to have invalidated his
prayer. In truth, the Muwafiq's dispensation is with regard to
lagging behind the Imam, while the Masbuq's dispensation is with
regard to omitting the Fatiha. (That is why, with respect to the rule
of what to do when one is in doubt about being a Muwafiq or a Masbuq,
one in fact chooses in the end to disregard the dispensation of
omitting the Fatiha in favour of lagging behind the Imam, since the
former is a graver dispensation as far as the school is
concerned.)
So a Muwafiq slow reciter (whether because the
Ma'mum is a non-Arab or because of some natural inability, not
because of deliberate waswasa [obsessive doubts], for example), is
not entitled like the Masbuq to skip his Fatiha and bow with the
Imam; he must instead complete his Fatiha even if it means lagging
behind the Imam.
End of extra notes on the Muwafiq and
Masbuq. Now to continue with the examples that may arise from our
original legal discussion (remembering that in all of the examples
below, the Ma'mum is a Muwafiq, except if stated
otherwise).
Example 1: Unlike in case 2, the Ma'mum does
not know the Imam, and instead, he was expecting and waiting for the
Imam to pause (since not only because he does not know what to expect
from this Imam, but also, he intended to do the Mandub of delaying
his Fatiha and intending to recite the Fatiha during that pause or
during the Sura of the Imam), suddenly the Imam does not pause and
bows instead (without reciting the Sura, which is rare), or (what is
more common) recites instead a short Sura or reciting a Sura very
fast, for instance, (but unlike case 1) leaving the Ma'mum very
little time to finish his own Fatiha, by which time the Imam bows. In
this case, the Ma'mum is considered to have a valid excuse like the
slow reciter above. When that happens, the Ma'mum should finish his
Fatiha as in the case of the slow reciter (and quickly perform the
rest of the Rukn of the prayer to catch up with the Imam), and
provided that the Imam is not more than three long integrals ahead of
the Ma'mum, the Ma'mum will have caught that rak'a with the
Imam. This is an example of Qudwa Hukmiyya.
Example 2: If
the Ma'mum was reciting his Fatiha with Tartil [correctly and
slowly; that is to say, distinctly pronouncing each letter, which is
an established Sunna] (when the Imam is not), and the Imam bows
before the Ma'mum could finish his Fatiha, while at the same time,
if the Ma'mum were to recite it fast he could have finished in time
before the Imam bows, then the hukm of this Ma'mum is like in the
example above and the slow reciter, in that he also has a valid
excuse to finish the Fatiha. This is another example of Qudwa
Hukmiyya. [cf. Ibn al-'Imad, Qawl Tamm, 1:32].
If what
is described in examples 1 and 2 happens to an Imam who is not
familiar with the rulings of our school (and he becomes shocked by
that), then he must come to realize that this is a dispensation
allowed by our school. In fact, this should make the Imam think
carefully about it so he can see (for his own good, since it is the
stricter position and comes out of Wara') the mercy in not rushing
his Qiyam and his prayer, either reciting properly with Tartil or
giving the Shafi'i some leeway by pausing for him, or reciting a
longer Sura (but not necessarily a Sura that is exceedingly long, for
it is still recommended to keep the recitation of the Sura brief
[takhfif al-qira'a]).
Example 3:
(a) In the
first rak'a of the Imam, the Ma'mum missed his opportunity to
finish reciting the Fatiha before the Imam bows, on account of having
busied himself with the preliminary Mandub readings or listening
attentively to the Imam's recitation of the Sura (while he has not
yet recited his own Fatiha) or doing nothing, in this case, he must
finish his Fatiha and he has the 'udhr of the three long rukns, as
in the case of the first two examples. The Fath al-Mu'in is
unequivocally clear on this:
"The Muwafiq is exluded
from the [rule of] the Masbuq. So, if he did not finish [reciting]
the Fatiha on account of having been busy with the preliminary Mandub
readings, such as the opening supplication, even if he thinks that he
will not be able to catch up [reciting] the Fatiha with him [i.e. the
Imam, during standing; in which case, it is not recommended anymore
for the Ma'mum to recite the preliminary Mandub readings], then, he
becomes like the slow reciter [that is to say, the rule of the slow
reciter applies to him in this case also] as mentioned previously,
indisputably [i.e., without any khilaf in the school].” [I'anat,
2:37-8]
This is the Qawl Mu'tamad of the school on this
issue, and as Sayyid al-Saqqaf, another commentator on the Fath
al-Mu'in makes clear, this is among the six difficult cases (in
fact, there is a final total of 8 cases) of judging between who is
considered a Muwafiq and who a Masbuq, which Imams al-Ramli and Ibn
Hajar (may Allah be pleased with both of these Muta'akhkhirs!)
agreed upon, [al-Saqqaf, Tarshih al-Mustafidin, 111]. (There are
famous disagreements between our two great Imams in these very
detailed and difficult discussions. These include questions such as
the status of the Ma'mum who falls asleep during the First
Tashahhud (in such a way that does not invalidate his Wudu', of
course) and discovers upon waking up that the Imam is in the bowing
position or is about to bow, whether such a Ma'mum is to be
considered a Muwafiq or a Masbuq.)
(b) If the Ma'mum is
a Masbuq under these circumstances, then, although he is normally
entitled to skip the Fatiha and bow with the Imam, this time, he
cannot. This is because he is now considered negligent [muqassir]. In
this case, he must then recite the Fatiha the length he estimates to
be equivalent to either one of the three cases above (and this is
another instance of a Muqallid making his own Ijtihad Zanni, such as
the case with finding the Qibla), before following the Imam further
(and unlike the Muwafiq with 'udhr, according to one qawl, he must
this time choose between either (a) Mufaraqa from the Imam or (b) go
straight to where the Imam is in order to prevent invalidating his
prayer (so if the Imam is in the I'tidal position, he omits his
bowing (and thereby loses that rak'a); so that if the latter
happens, then his recitation of the Fatiha was in fact done to
prevent him from invalidating his prayer).
Example 4:
There has been a suggestion about reciting each verse of the Fatiha
'right after' each verse said by the Imam so that the Ma'mum
may listen to the Imam's recitation as well as fulfilling the
Mam'um's requirement of reciting the Fatiha (and this will make
the Ma'mum completely free to listen to the Imam's Sura if the
Imam does not pause). Indeed, this is a subcase of case 2, namely for
the Ma'mum to recite the Fatiha while the Imam is reciting the
Fatiha. One must remember, however, that case 2 is a step down from
case 1, and case 2 is already something done as a last resort,
because it is still recommended for the Ma'mum to delay the Fatiha
until the Imam finishes his Fatiha. (In other words, if the Ma'mum
has no good reason to delay reciting his Fatiha until after the
Imam's Fatiha (such as the knowledge the Ma'mum have in case 2)
then the hukm is Khilaf Awla.) Nevertheless, there is no harm in
doing what is suggested here.
There can however be four
possible complications with this suggestion: (a) if the Imam does not
pause in between his verses of the Fatiha or (b) the Imam's pause
is too quick for the Ma'mum to the extent that he will not be able
to finish reciting a particular verse before the Imam starts the next
one or (c) because of wanting to keep up with the irregular Imam, the
Ma'mum (especially a slow reciter) might be confused and therefore
forget which verse he is on or even (d) lose his Muwala [continuity]
when reciting the Fatiha. Case (d) is the most serious. Here he would
need to repeat his Fatiha (thereby making this thoughtful suggestion
a cause of trouble).
According to our school, observing
the Muwala is an essential part of reciting the Fatiha. The jurists
define 'Muwala' as "to utter each word uninterruptedly by not
seperating each one from the next by more than a pause for breath
[Sakta al-Tanaffus; known also as the Sakta al-Istiraha or the pause
for rest; this applies to those withuot any valid excuse to have a
long pause] or stammering [or the like, for those with a valid excuse
to have a long pause].” [I'anat, 1:141; also 1:142-3; cf.
al-Bajuri, Hashiya, 1:149-150].
This may create
difficulties if the Imam recites the last and the longest verse of
the Fatiha slowly, and with Tartil, from "SiraATalladhIna...”, to
the end (note that to stop at "an'amta 'alayhim” is Khilaf
Awla; I'anat, 1:147), for example, since it is likely that the
Ma'mum's Sakta al-Istiraha may be longer than what is necessary,
and this will break the Muwala.
If these problems can be
avoided, then it is sufficient. However, the fiqhi ruling concerning
example 4 cannot be considered Mandub or recommended by the school.
Otherwise the various Mujtahids and jurists of the school throughout
our long history would have said it to be so. One can even see that
the question of Muwala could be a possible source of doubts and
confusion among the Shafi'i 'awwamm and that the scholars would
have to deal with questions from the public such as, "Have I
observed Muwala, although I stopped for x amount of time?”
and so on.
Because this suggestion is dependent again on
the style of the Imam's recitation, it may only work for some and
not for others. It therefore requires a certain degree of cooperation
and understanding between the Imam and the Ma'mum before the
prayer; and for us, the cooperation is in the form of the pause that
the Imam is requested to make on behalf of the Ma'mum.
I
am aware of the sincere wish we all have to listen attentively to the
Imam's recitation of the Sura (even in the face of our school's
exempting reciting the Fatiha from the command to listen to the
Qur'an whenever it is being recited, see below): that is why it is
best to pray behind a Shafi'i Imam, if one cannot find another Imam
who understands our plight and will make leeway for us. (May Allah
make others understand us in this matter, for there is Rahma in
this!)
Now down to the technical bits. The following
are some legal discussions on the primary texts for the legal rulings
of the Shafi'i school. Our discussions of this evidence are
restricted to what may cause doubt for followers of our school,
because it will probably appear to untrained and non-initiated
Shafi'i eyes that they undermine our Qawl Mu'tamad (in that it is
Wajib for all, in all cases to recite the Fatiha, except of course
for the Masbuq in a jama'a prayer). (Thus reading books on 'Ilm
Khilaf is not advisable; nor is it good when answering a fiqhi
question to present the evidence of primary texts, because it will
only encourage the untrained to be concerned with the evidence
instead of with the answers; see below for more on this Nasiha.)
Primary texts in favour of the Qawl Mu'tamad will largely be
omitted here, except to mention the one principal source (and another
below) as related by our Shaykh al-Islam Zakariyya al-Ansari (may
Allah be pleased with him!):
"The fifth (Rukn of the
prayer) is the recitation of the Fatiha because of the [its 'illa
or legal basis is the following] Hadith related by both Bukhari and
Muslim [khabar sahihayn] [known as the Hadith of 'Ubada that
establishes the Fatiha:]
"lA SalAta li-man lam yaqra'
bi-fAtiHati l-kitAbi" [There is no prayer for those who do not
recite the Fatiha], that is to say, in every rak'a. [al-Sharqawi:
this includes both Imam and Ma'mum even in an audible prayer. The
author [i.e., Shaykh a-Islam] clarified this Hadith by other Hadiths,
and this Hadith comes from more than 20 companions [and technically
it is called Mashhur]. As for the [conflicting] Hadith [known as the
Hadith of Jabir]: "man SallA khalfa l-imAmi fa-qirA'tu l-imAmi
la-hu qirA'atun" [whoever is praying behind the Imam, the
Imam's recitation is his recitation; discussed below], it is made
weak by Hadith masters [Huffaz]].” [al-Sharqawi, Hashiya,
1:186-7].
(It is not my habit to present a discussion on
primary texts, and it must be pointed out that presenting what could
be 'sensitive' discussions involving contradiction of primary
texts [ta'arud al-adilla; which is what will transpire below] is to
be discouraged; and discussions of detailed scriptural proofs and
dalils should not be presented to those who are unable to make heads
or tails of the evidence, that is to say, the public (lest they be
encouraged in thinking that the right place to go searching for fiqhi
rulings is the voluminous Hadith collections, and not small fiqhi
works like the Reliance and the Maqasid; or worse, such
discussion might lead simple followers of the other schools to think
that our proofs are 'stronger' than the position held by their
respective schools (thereby, causing fitna and confusion; I must make
it clear, therefore, that it is not my intention to undermine the
positions of the other schools by presenting some of the contrary
evidence offered by our school), because the concern for all, 'awwamm
and scholars alike, should be with the 'amal and the rulings as to
whether they are either Wajib, Mandub, Mubah, Makruh, or Haram; and
if one had no qualms in trusting the judgements of outstanding Imams
such as al-Nawawi and Ibn Hajar, in the first place, then people
would spend less time being concerned about the evidence behind the
'amal). This can be a distraction and a source of much confusion
(and 'evidence-talk' of this and that being 'stronger' and
'closer' to the truth or to the Qur'an and the Sunna might lead
the person to change the way he does things every time he thinks
something is stronger until the day he dies). (May Allah keep us away
from this fitna and protect us from Iblis' game, and we ask Allah
not to make the ta'arud adilla below the cause of mukhalafa qulub
with others and may He make it easy for us to go about our normal
lives and do what we were originally supposed to do in this
dunya!))
I. Among the primary texts is the following
Qur'anic verse:
wa-idhA quri'a l-Qur'Anu fa-stami'U
la-hu wa-nSitU la'allakum turHamUn [Whenever the Qur'an is being
recited, listen to it and be silent, so that you may find mercy.]
(al-A'raf, 7:204).
Our jurists explain that the tafsir
of the word 'Qur'an' in this verse is not originally referring to
verses of the Qur'an itself, but the Friday sermon [khutba
al-Jumu'a]. So the real meaning of this verse is: when the Khatib
[Friday preacher] delivers his Khutba, then listen to him attentively
and be silent contentedly, so that you may receive His mercy. [cf.
Tafsir al-Jalalayn 1:318-9; another Shafi'i mufassir, Imam
al-Khazin (may Allah be pleased with him!) [al-Khazin, Tafsir, 2:160]
confirms this to be what is narrated from among the Ahl al-Tafsir of
the Tabi'in: Mujahid, Ibn Jubayr, and 'Ata (may Allah be well
pleased with them all!)].
The Shafi'i school (with all
due respect to the other schools who disagree with us on this issue,
for as Ahl Sunna wa-l-Jama'a, we agree to disagree on this point in
order that we find Allah's mercy) says that this verse has no
relation [ta'alluq] whatsoever with the issue of reciting the
Fatiha behind the Imam, and they disagree (which is a Rahma for the
Umma) with those who take this verse as the legal basis for not
reciting the Fatiha. Even if we were to admit that this verse is
related to the recitation in the prayer (which we do not), then we
can say that this is an additional reason why the Imam should pause
for the Ma'mum to recite. Also, it could be said that the
prohibition in this verse is with regard to the recitation of the
Sura, not the Fatiha. Furthermore, the verse is considered by Usuli
scholars as an 'Amm Makhsus or 'Amm Mutlaq [Unspecified Absolute;
technically, an 'Amm that is specific to 'Amm], because it does
not include firstly, a Qarina [indication] that would remove the
possibility that it might be subject to Takhsis [specification of the
general] by something else, and secondly, it too does not include a
Qarina that would remove its general and unspecified character. (The
point here is that the verse does not contain an indication that it
is preventing the recitation of the Fatiha.) Also, because the verse
is an 'Amm Makhsus, some of our jurists maintain that we can
benefit only from its general Nasiha and I'tibar [lessons]. For
that reason, the verse can only lead to rulings such as either Mandub
or its opposite, Makruh, but not definitely Wajib or Haram.
Apart
from the two interpretations already mentioned above, there are two
more which Shafi'i jurists also accept: (3) that this verse was
revealed as one of the legal bases for the prohibition in prayer of
kalam [a fiqhi technical term to mean "an utterance of even one
meaningful letter,” such as 'qi' [the Fi'il Amr of "wiqaya”]
(notice dear readers, how this word, "kalam”, is an excellent
example of an equivocal term [ism mushtarak] in Arabic (indeed
classical Arabic texts are full of equivocal words, and that is one
of the reasons why we need teachers to illuminate us as to their
often ambigious and obscure meanings or even just to tell us when we
are encountering one), for "kalam” is used differently and has
specific definitions [hadd] in some of our major disciplines: Nahw,
Tawhid, Tasawwuf, and Usul; and despite all this, "kalam” is
still not stripped of its lughawi and original lexical meanings]);
and (4) for the prohibition of (fiqhi) kalam in any Qur'anic
Majlis.
Even in this last tafsir, which is 'umum
[general and unspecified] (with the meaning that if at any time or at
any place where the Qur'an is being recited, one should remain
silent), Shafi'i jurists understand the meaning to have been
specified and exempted for one case only (namely, for the case of
those reciting the Fatiha in their prayers), by no one other than the
Prophet Muhammad (may Allah's blessings and peace be upon him!)
himself. This is because another Hadith of 'Ubada (this time, known
as the one exempting the Fatiha) has come down to us, and since it is
rigorously authenticated [Sahih] (by the Hadith masters of our
school, the Hafizs, al-Hakim and al-Bayhaqi), it has become the
primary basis for our Takhsis and of our specification of the
general:
Salla rasUlullahi SallallAhu 'alayhi wa-sallama
aS-SubHa fa-thaqulat 'alayhi l-qirA'atu fa-lammA nSarafa qAla
innI arAkum taqra'Una wa-rA'a imAmikum qAla qulnA yA raSulallahi
iy wallAhi qAla lA taf'alU illA bi-ummi l-qur'Ani fa-innahu lA
SalAta li-man lam yaqra' bi-hA [The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's
blessings and peace be upon him!) was praying Subh and the recitation
became difficult for him. When he turned around [after finishing the
prayer] he said: "I see that you recite behind the Imam.” We
said: "By Allah, yes O Messenger of Allah!” He said: "Do not do
it, except for the Umm al-Qur'an [i.e., Fatiha], for there is no
prayer for those who do not recite it] (Related by Ahmad, al-Bukhari
(but in his Juz' al-Qira'a), Abu Dawud, al-Tirmidhi, al-Nasa'i,
Ibn Khuzayma, Ibn Hibban, al-Daraqutni, al-Hakim, al-Bayhaqi, and
al-Baghawi, with variants).
Other Hadiths that are
specific in character [Lafz Khass] and have reliable narrations also
show that the Prophet exempted the Fatiha, but there is really no
point bringing them out here.
In short, our jurists and
usuli scholars see that those who do not make the Fatiha to be Wajib
for recitation behind the Imam during the audible prayers are relying
on proofs which are 'umum; while both, the exception and the
command for the recitation of the Fatiha, are specific. Therefore,
what is 'umum have been takhsis and specified here, and this is an
example of a Takhsis al-'Amm (in this particular example of (4), of
the Kitab by a Sunna Mashhura), following the usuli
principle:
wa-binA'u l-'Ammi 'alA l-khASSi
wAjibun
[The general must be on the basis of the
specific].
Because the exemption of this verse is specific
only to reciting the Fatiha in the prayer, this explains why we are
not supposed to recite, for example, after reciting our minimum
Fatiha, any further Sura, but to listen attentively to the Imam's
recitation instead. That is why, for all concerned, it is good Adab
if the Ma'mum and Imam can cooperate together and be literally
muwafiq (from the start!) in this matter, so that, for example, the
Imam makes that pause or reads slowly with Tartil (and especially if
the Imam is a Shafi'i, who is better placed to know the reasons for
doing so, as this comes out of Wara' and what is best and the way
of Ihsan). The fiqh ruling is always easy, the difficulty is always
with its adab; fiqhi works and judgements are always dry save with
their close companion, Tasawwuf. It is through these considerations
that the ruling is reached that it is recommended for the Imam to
pause for the Ma'mum, as we have seen in the Kayfiyyat above.
In
sum, this verse is too general to apply to a specific ruling, and our
school has appropriately specified the general here.
II.
The Hadith of Abu Hurayra (may Allah be well pleased with him!) which
says:
al-ImAmu DAminun [the Imam is the one responsible]
(Related by 'Abd al-Razzaq, al-Shafi'i, Ahmad, Abu Dawud,
al-Tirmidhi, Ibn Khuzayma, and al-Bayhaqi).
Some may
understand this Hadith to mean that the Imam's recitation of the
Fatiha is performed on behalf of the Ma'mum. Yes, that may be so
for the other schools (and there is Rahma of the Umma in that), but
as far as we are concerned, the meaning of this Hadith is that the
Imam's recitation is sufficient for those who are considered Masbuq
(and that explains why those who are Masbuq should just bow when the
Imam bows, even if the Ma'mum did not or has not finished reciting
his Fatiha; but of course there is tafsil and further detail
regarding that issue).
In sum, this Hadith is too general
to apply to a specific ruling, and our school has specified the
general here by interpreting it.
III. The Hadith of Abu
Hurayra (may Allah be well pleased with him!) which says:
innamA
ju'ila l-imAmu li-yu'tamma bi-hi fa-idhA kabbara fa-kabbarU
wa-idhA qara'a fa-nSitU [The Imam is made only to be followed. When
the Imam makes the Takbir, you [too] make the Takbir. When he
recites, be silent] (Related by Ahmad, Abu Dawud, al-Nasa'i, Ibn
Majah, and al-Bayhaqi).
According to the principle Hadith
master of our school, Imam al-Bayhaqi, as well as Abu Dawud (may
Allah be pleased with them both!), the phrase, "when he recites, be
silent,” is added later and there is controversy over who added it.
[cf. al-Bayhaqi, Sunan, 2:156-7; and al-'Azimabadi, 'Awn
al-Ma'bud, 2:236].
In sum, due to the problems with the
matn of this Hadith (technically known as a Mudraj Hadith), it cannot
be used to contradict the rigorously authenticated Hadiths of 'Ubada
related by Bukhari, Muslim and others; and even if this Hadith were
authenticated (which it is not), then the same arguments used to
explain the verse of al-A'raf a