Fatwā

QUESTION

I have heard that according to the Shāfiʿī madhhab, praying behind someone that adheres to a school that does not conform to ours with respect to the essentials (arkān or shurūṭ) of ṣalāh is reprehensible (makrūh), even if he does them. The question is, we live in an area where many of the Masājid are Ḥanafī. Some Shāfiʿī scholars suggested that we pray separately (make our own jamāʿah) outside of the Masjid as this is better and they also quoted Ibn Ḥajar as saying that this would be better than praying behind a Ḥanafī. There is not much fear of fitnah in the Masjid as no-one would know of it, so that is not a factor. Thus, is it better for us to make our own (much smaller) jamāʿah or pray alone as opposed to praying behind someone that adheres to a school that does not conform to ours with respect to the essentials (arkān or shurūṭ) of ṣalāh? Please give guidance on this matter.

ANSWER

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

The matter you have raised is one of dispute within the Shāfiʿī school. The view of Ibn Ḥajar is indeed as you have mentioned. However, before we get to that, I’d like to list here the views pertaining to the validity, or invalidity, of a Shāfiʿī praying behind someone that adheres to a school that does not conform to ours with respect to the essentials (arkān or shurūṭ) of ṣalāh. Imām al-Nawawī addresses this issue in his Majmūʿ, detailing therein four views:

1.  The Shāfiʿī’s may follow such a person as consideration is only given to whether the Imām believes his own ṣalāh is correct, irrespective of whether the Maʾmūm believes the same.
   
   
2. He may not follow anyone who regards some of the essential acts as non-essential, irrespective of whether that person performs those acts or not.
   
   
3. He may only follow such a person if he is certain that person has performed all the essential acts. If he feels any doubt that the Imām has left out one of these acts, then he is no longer part of that jamāʿah and must finish his ṣalāh on his own. In the event that he continues to follow the Imām’s actions while also fulfilling what is required of one praying alone, his ṣalāh would be valid without the reward of jamāʿah.
   
   
4. He may follow provided he does not know for certain that the Imām left out some of the essential acts. A prime example of this would be the basmalah, which is recommended to be read inaudibly in the Ḥanafī school. The maʾmūm may not be certain that the Imām failed to recite it, and thus may continue to follow. This Imām al-Nawawī has selected as the carried view.

Branching off of this, our scholars have differed further on whether following such an individual (where valid) would be reprehensible (makrūh) or not. Coming back to Ibn Ḥajar, he goes the way of reprehensibility, while al-Ramlī and al-Khaṭīb differ, in agreement with al-Subkī. They hold that a person who only has the option to pray behind a Ḥanafī should do so and will attain the reward of congregation. If he has the option of praying in a mosque where a Shāfiʿī leads the prayer, praying there would gain him the consummate reward. If he still chooses to pray in the Ḥanafī led congregation, he would still attain reward, albeit a lesser one, but that would still be better than praying alone.

Such is the view of al-Ramlī, which is shared by a good amount of late Shāfiʿī jurists. It is also this view which I feel is best for your circumstances, and which should in fact be preferred over that of Ibn Ḥajar, as this matter is one of widespread occurrence, or ʿumūm al-balwā, and by taking Ibn Ḥajar’s view, won’t we then be forced to say that those individuals attending and praying at mosques led by Ḥanafīs are deprived of the reward for jamāʿah?

Returning to al-Ramlī’s view and your suggestion to start a smaller congregation outside the mosque. Our scholars state that praying in the mosque is better than praying anywhere else, even when the congregation is larger in those places. If we were to apply this unconfined statement to our case, then praying in the mosque, behind a Ḥanafī Imām,would be better than praying with a smaller congregation outside the mosque. It is only when there is a second mosque wherein a Shāfiʿī leads the congregation that attending this second one becomes optimal. This is because the virtue of the mosque itself is compounded to the reward of jamāʿah.

وﷲ تعالى أعلم

And Allah knows best

Y Karaan
DUAI Fatwa Department