Can I Lead a Prayer That I Have Already Prayed?
Answered by Shaykh Abdul-Rahim Reasat
Question: Assalamu alaykum
I recently led a group in the Isha prayer. As I am travelling I had already combined and shortened the Maghrib and Isha prayers but when asked to lead Isha I had completely forgotten that I had already prayed Isha.
What is the ruling in this situation?
Answer: As-salamu ‘alaykum wa rahmtullah wa barakatuh
Thank you for your question.
If you fulfilled the conditions of combining prayers according to the Shafiʾ, Ḥanbali or Maliki school then you have discharged the obligation of praying Isha. However, seeing as this is an issue differed upon by the elite jurists it is safer for one’s religious practice to repeat Isha in its own time if possible.Many of the scholars of Tarim, Yemen do this. Therefore, the Isha you led was valid for yourself and those who prayed behind you; you do not need to repeat it.
May Allah grant you the best of both worlds.
Wassalam,
[Shaykh] Abdul-Rahim Reasat
Shaykh Abdul-Rahim Reasat began his studies in Arabic Grammar and Morphology in 2005. After graduating with a degree in English and History he moved to Damascus in 2007 to study and sit at the feet of some of the most erudite scholars of our time.
Over the following eighteen months he studied a traditional curriculum, studying with scholars such as Shaykh Adnan Darwish, Shaykh Abdurrahman Arjan, Shaykh Hussain Darwish and Shaykh Muhammad Darwish.
In late 2008 he moved to Amman, Jordan, where he continued his studies for the next six years, in Fiqh, Usul al-Fiqh, Theology, Hadith Methodology and Commentary, Shama’il, and Logic with teachers such as Dr Ashraf Muneeb, Dr Salah Abu’l-Hajj, Dr Hamza al-Bakri, Shaykh Ahmad Hasanat, Dr Mansur Abu Zina amongst others. He was also given two licences of mastery in the science of Qur’anic recital by Shakh Samir Jabr and Shaykh Yahya Qandil.
His true passion, however, arose in the presence of Shaykh Ali Hani, considered by many to be one of the foremost tafsir scholars of our time who provided him with the keys to the vast knowledge of the Quran. With Shaykh Ali, he was able to study an extensive curriculum of Qur’anic Sciences, Tafsir, Arabic Grammar, and Rhetoric.
When he finally left Jordan for the UK in 2014, Shaykh Ali gave him his distinct blessing and still recommends students in the UK to seek out Shaykh Abdul-Rahim for Quranic studies. Since his return he has trained as a therapist and has helped a number of people overcome emotional and psychosomatic issues. He is a keen promoter of emotional and mental health.
