Give Way To The Most Learned To Lead Prayer

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate
Assalaamu alaykum

Dear Friends

I pray that you are well.

Far too many times we see someone leading the prayer with incorrect recitation of the Qur'an.

If you never learn how to recite the Qur'an properly, it is incumbent upon you to give way to another person who can recite the Qu'ran properly to lead the prayer, whether others are younger than you or you have been there longer in the masjid. Otherwise, you risk nullifying your prayer and that of your followers. Do you want to carry the sin?

Similarly, the one who gives the adhan (call to prayer), the Mu'aththin, should learn how to make the adhan properly, including saying the words correctly.

Prayer is obligatory worship, and an integral part of our religion, and adhan is dhikr (remembrance of Allah) in harmony. We should take these matters seriously and learn them properly, and the one who wants to lead prayer, he should learn the rulings of leading a prayer. Our manners with Allah should be of humility and therefore we should be humble enough to recognize that we are not qualified to lead a prayer or give an adhan, if we haven't at least learned how to recite Al-Fatiha and a few surahs correctly with a qualified teacher.

Every male Muslim should learn the rulings of leading a prayer and learn how to recite Al-Fatiha and some surahs correctly, because one of these days you might have to lead a prayer. Allah has put a big reward for congregational prayer. It has been reported in authentic traditions, that the congregational prayers are twenty five times better than the prayers offered alone. So we should offer prayer in a group as much as we can--at home with our families, and at work with our co-workers, if we can't go to the masjid.

Precedence is given to the most learned to lead the prayer. If you are a host, you can delegate it to your guest who is more learned in the rulings of leading a prayer.

The Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) said,

“The one most versed in the Book of Allah should lead. If equal, then the one most knowledgeable of the Sunna should lead.” [Muslim, Abu Dawud, Tirmidhi, Nasa’i and Ibn Maja, with the wording being Muslim’s]

It is best that the one more learned in the rulings of prayer lead, then the one whose recitation is better. This is the proper understanding of ‘most versed in the Book of Allah,’ as the scholars explain.

It is not obligatory, however, for the more learned to lead, though it is best. [Shurunbulali, Imdad al-Fattah Sharh Nur al-Idah]

Shaykh al-Islam al-Marghinani explained in the Hidaya that knowledge of the rulings of prayer is given precedence over good recitation because:

a) knowledge is required throughout the actions of prayer, while recitation is but one integral, and

b) those most-versed in the Qur’an at the time of the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) were also the most knowledgeable; because this is often not the case in our times, we give precedence to the more knowledgeable. [Marghinani, al-Hidaya, 1.346]

Imam Shurunbulali reminds us in his Shurunbulaliyya (a Hashiya on Mulla Khusro’s Durar) that,

“This is only when there is no set imam (ratib). If there is one, then he is given precedence over others, even if they are more knowledgeable, as mentioned in al-Bahr.”[Shurunbulali, Hashiyat al-Durar, 1.85]

[by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani]

May Allah grant us tawfiq. Ameen.

Please don't forget us in your night prayers. Jazakallahu khairan.

And Allah knows best.
Wassalaam

related archives:
Call to Prayer (Adhan)
Prayer, Our Haven