Home » Hanafi Fiqh » Qibla.com » Who should lead congregational prayer?

Who should lead congregational prayer?

Answered as per Hanafi Fiqh by Qibla.com

Answered by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Who can lead congregational prayer? I know a Muslim brother who knows more suras of the Quran and ahadith than I do. I have been telling him to lead the prayer when the two of us pray together. Is it forbidden, or not recommended, for me to lead him in prayer? What are the criteria for determining which of us leads the prayer?

Answer:
In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

Walaikum assalam wa rahmatullah,

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]

And Allah alone gives success.

Wassalam,
Faraz Rabbani

Imam Abu Hanifa (Allah have mercy on him) said, “Fiqh is to know one’s self: what is for it and against it.”

قال شيخ الإسلام برهان الدين المرغيناني (رحمه الله تعالى) في الهداية: (1/346 مع فتح القددير للإمام ابن الهمام)( وأولى الناس بالإمامة أعلمهم بالسنة ) … ونحن نقول القراءة مفتقر إليها لركن واحد والعلم لسائر الأركان ( فإن تساووا فأقرؤهم ) لقوله عليه الصلاة والسلام { يؤم القوم أقرؤهم لكتاب الله تعالى . فإن كانوا سواء فأعلمهم بالسنة } [فتح: رواه الجماعة إلا البخاري واللفظ لمسلم] وأقرؤهم كان أعلمهم لأنهم يتلقونه بأحكامه فقدم في الحديث , ولا كذلك في زماننا فقدمنا الأعلم ( فإن تساووا فأورعهم ) لقوله عليه الصلاة والسلام { من صلى خلف عالم تقي فكأنما صلى خلف نبي } فإن تساووا فأسنهم لقوله عليه الصلاة والسلام لابني أبي ملكية { وليؤمكما أكبركما سنا } ولأن في تقديمه تكثير الجماعة .

قال الإمام الشرنبلالي (رحمه الله تعالى) في حاشيته على الدرر: (1/85) هذا إذا لم يكن ثم راتب . وأما الراتب فهو أحق من غيره , وإن كان غيره أفقه منه كما في البحر

This answer was indexed from Qibla.com, which used to have a repository of Islamic Q&A answered by various scholars. The website is no longer in existence. It has now been transformed into a learning portal with paid Islamic course offering under the brand of Kiflayn.