[أم أبي التراب]

FOLLOWING THE IMAM IF HE WAS ABSOLUTELY WRONG..

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Scholars have different opinions concerning this issue..The following is from sheikh Al Albani questions..

A QUESTION..
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In his fatwas Sheikh Al Islam Ibn Taimia said, if the Imam forgot and stood to make fifth rak'a, the people praying after him shouldn't follow him. Is this opposite to Hadith Ibn Mas’ud that the prophet prayed five rak'at and people followed him?

Sheikh Al Albani answered that this opinion has no evidence, on the opposite, there is Ibn Mas’ud hadith which we should remind people with.

حديث ابن مسعود كما في الصحيحين:
صَلَّى بنَا رَسولُ اللهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عليه وسلَّمَ خَمْسًا، فَقُلْنَا: يا رَسولَ اللهِ، أزِيدَ في الصَّلَاةِ، قالَ: وما ذَاكَ؟
قالوا:صَلَّيْتَ خَمْسًا، قالَ: إنَّما أنَا بَشَرٌ مِثْلُكُمْ، أذْكُرُ كما تَذْكُرُونَ وأَنْسَى كما تَنْسَوْنَ ثُمَّ سَجَدَ سَجْدَتَيِ السَّهْوِ.

The prophet, peace be upon him, led us in the prayer, he prayed five rak'at, we said is there any increase in the prayer? he said why, we told him that he prayed five... then he said, "I prayed five. It's just that I'm human like you. I remember, you remember...Moslem.

People, who say that the Imam is not to be followed if he made a mistake, we tell them this hadith, but they say that this incident is before the legislation.. We tell them that if this is true the prophet would have told this to us... The legislation means after

الْيَوْمَ أَكْمَلْتُ لَكُمْ" دِينَكُمْ وَأَتْمَمْتُ عَلَيْكُمْ نِعْمَتِي وَرَضِيتُ "لَكُمُ الْإِسْلَامَ دِينًا"

"This day, I have perfected your religion for you, completed My Favour upon you, and have chosen for you Islâm as your religion".

But the prophet died and didn't tell us anything new concerning this issue..So we have an evidence to follow the Imam completely even if he made any mistake.

"إنَّما جُعِلَ الإمام ليؤتمَّ به ، فلا تختلفوا عليه ..فإذا كبَّرَ فكبروا ، وإذا ركع فاركعوا ، وإذا قال : سمع الله لمن حمده ، فقولوا : ربنا ولك الحمد ، وإذا سجد فاسجدوا ، وإذا صلى قائمًا فصلوا قيامًا ، وإذا صلى قاعدًا أو جالسًا ، فصلوا قعودًا أو جلوسًا أجمعين " .

"The Imam is to be followed,
do not act differently from him. Bow when he bows, and say, "Rabbana-lakal hamd" if he says "Sami`a l-lahu liman hamidah"; and if he prostrates, prostrate (after him), and if he prays sitting, pray sitting all together." In this Hadith, the prophet, peace be upon him, ordered us even to leave Al Kiam, (which if left while one is praying alone , his prayer is invalid), only to follow the Imam.

Those who say that the people praying after the Imam shouldn't follow him if he forgot and stood for the fifth rak'a, say this because exceeding is like decreasing, in their opinion.
If one prayed Al Maghrib two rak'at instead of three, then his prayer is invalid if one prayed Al Zuhr five rak'at instead of four also his prayer is invalid, so the people shouldn't follow their Imam.
But we say that they should follow him, try to remind him, as in sunnah, if he didn't recognize that it is the fifth rak'a, then the people after him should follow him.

We respect Imam Ibn Taimia, but we don't follow him, we follow what is in the Quran and Sunnah.
I think that Ibn Taimia is rewarded from Allah , but we can't follow him as we have evidences in Sunnah.

Ibn Al Othaimeen said that the obligatory thing is omitted to follow the Imam, because the prophet said :
"The Imam is to be followed, don't act differently from him. "