Answered by Sidi Moustafa Elqabbany
When or at what point is it obligatory to have the intention when praying any of the Five Fard Kifayah Jama’ah Prayers? I heard that you intend to follow the Imam before saying “AllahuAkbar” in the Fard Kifayah Jama’ah Prayers, and that your intention must occur at the same time when you say “AllahuAkbar” in the Friday (Jumu’ah) Prayers. And what do you intend when praying a Fard Jama’ah Kifayah Prayer, and what do you intend when praying the Friday Prayer? Is it sufficient just to intend to follow the Imam, or do you have to intend both to follow the Imam and specify what type of prayer it is? For example when praying the Fard Subh Prayer in a Group, do I say in my heart “I intend to follow the Imam and to pray the Fard Subh Prayer with the Jama’ah”, or is is sufficient just to say “I intend to follow the Imam”? What about the Friday Jumu’ah Prayer? Can you please clarify the intentions when it comes to Group Prayers?
As everyone knows, the five daily prayers are personally obligatory (Ar. fard ‘ayn). Offering these prayers in congregation is a communal obligation (Ar. fard kifayah) upon men. In other words, if no one establishes the congregational prayer in a community, all men in the community fall into sin.
For any of the five daily prayers, it is obligatory to intend a minimum of three things:
That one is praying; That this prayer is an obligation (Ar. fard); The specific prayer; e.g. fajr. For example, one would intend to pray the fard of fajr when praying it. The analogous intention has to be present for the other four prayers. These components of the intention have to be there whether the prayer is offered alone or in a group.
As for the timing of the intention, it should occur while saying Allahu Akbar. This simply means that while saying Allahu Akbar you should be conscious that you are praying fajr and that it is an obligation. You would substitute the actual prayer you are offering in place of fajr for the other prayers.
A follower must intend congregation before following the imam’s movements. A follower intends following the imam (Ar. iqtida’) while the imam intends being an imam (Ar. imamah). It is also valid for either (or both) to intend congregation (Ar. jama’ah). Only after this intention is made does one start to get the reward of praying in congregation. Therefore, it’s ideal to make this intention during the opening Allahu Akbar along with the other components of the intention. If the imam forgets to intend the congregation for dhuhr and only does so in the second rak’ah, he gets the reward of praying three rak’ahs in congregation and one rak’ah alone. If the imam never intends congregation, he gets the reward of praying alone. Those who made the intention of following him get the reward of praying in congregation.
Unlike the five daily prayers, it is not valid to offer the Friday prayer alone. Therefore, when offering the Friday prayer, one must intend four things:
That one is praying;
That this prayer is an obligation (Ar. fard);
That it is the Friday prayer;
That it is in congregation. (Alternatively, the imam can intend being an imam and the follower can intend being a follower.)
All four components must be present during the opening Allahu Akbar of the Friday prayer. So while saying Allahu Akbar you should be conscious that you are praying the obligatory Friday prayer in a group.
Allah the Exalted knows best.