Is My Prayer Valid If The Imam Turned Out To Be Praying A Different Prayer?

Answered by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Question

I am currently doing the Mukhtasar Al Quduri. In the Prayer section, I have a question: 

If I see a congregation praying Asr but I join them thinking it’s Dhuhr. Do I need to pray my Dhuhr again? and if I complete the prayer with them do I need to pray Asr again? 

Answer

In the Name of Allah, the Merciful and Compassionate

I hope you’re doing well, insha’Allah.

In the Hanafi school, a condition for valid following in an obligatory prayer is that the imam be praying the same prayer as the follower. [Shurunbulali, Maraqi al-Falah]

Thus, if you found out that the imam was praying a different obligatory prayer (as in your example), then the obligatory prayer behind them wouldn’t be valid. [ibid]

This is based on the principle that the follower’s prayer is built upon the imam’s prayer. [Jassas/Tahawi, Sharh Mukhtasar al-Tahawi; Sarakhsi, al-Mabsut] 

This is taken from various hadiths of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)said, “The imam is the basis.” [Tahawi, Sharh Ma`ani al-Athar; Ahmad, Tabarani; sound–and others; see excellent discussion in Manbaji, al-Lubab fi’l Jam` Bayna as-Sunna wa’l Kitab]

Leeway: Difference of Opinion is Mercy

This isn’t a condition, however, in the Shafi`i school. [Misri, `Umdat al-Salik] Thus, the follower’s prayer while praying a different prayer than the imam would be valid.

There is leeway in taking this position with respect to past practice–and to avoid having to make up (qada’) of those prayers.

Our noble teacher, the pious Hanafi jurist of Damascus, Shaykh Adib Kallas (Allah have mercy upon him)would apply the principle of taking from other schools’ established positions to avoid having to make up past prayers (isqat al-qada’).

May Allah bless you for your concern for seeking knowledge. For clarity and comprehensive understanding of the fiqh of worship, I would recommend taking the Level One and Level Two courses in the Seekers Islamic Studies Curriculum on the fiqh of worship:

Absolute Essentials; Essentials; Nur al-Idah

And Allah is the giver of success and facilitation.

[Shaykh] Faraz Rabbani 

Shaykh Faraz Rabbani spent ten years studying with some of the leading scholars of recent times, first in Damascus and Amman, Jordan. His teachers include the foremost theologian of recent times in Damascus, the late Shaykh Adib al-Kallas (may Allah have mercy on him), and his student Shaykh Hassan al-Hindi, one of the leading Hanafi fuqaha of the present age. He returned to Canada in 2007, where he founded SeekersGuidance to meet the urgent need to spread Islamic knowledge–both online and on the ground–in a reliable, relevant, inspiring, and accessible manner. He is the author of Absolute Essentials of Islam: Faith, Prayer, and the Path of Salvation According to the Hanafi School (White Thread Press, 2004.) Since 2011, Shaykh Faraz has been named one of the 500 most influential Muslims by the Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Center.