Question:
Ayyuha al-saadah
Is it permissible for a follower to follow the imam’s recitation in a mushaf while in the taraweeh salaah??
jazaakum-Allah wa yubaarik feekum
Answer:
The issue of reading from a mushaf in prayer is brought forth by our fuqaha in two places. Firstly, it comes in Bab Sifat al-Salah under the section dealing with the fourth integral of prayer, the recitation of Fatiha. Imam al-Ramli says in Nihayat al-Muhtaj,
(فإن جهل الفاتحة) ولم يمكنه تعلمها لضيق وقت أو بلادة ولا قراءتها في نحو مصحف…. فينتقل الى البدل(فسب آيات)
(an-Nawawi: if one does not know the Fatiha:) and is unable to learn it due to insufficient time, dim-wittedness, and is unable to recite it from a mushaf…one moves to the substitute (an-Nawawi: then seven verses). (Nihayat al-Muhtaj 1/484-485)
Sheikh Sa’id Ba’Ishn mentions something similar in Bushra al-Karim,
الرابع من الأركان: قراءة الفاتحة في قيام كل ركعة أو بدله في الفرض و النفل للمنفرد وغيره في السرية والجهرية حفظا أو تلقينا أو نظرا في مصحف
“The fourth integral of prayer is recitation of Fatiha whilst standing or what substitutes standing in every rak’a in both the obligatory and supererogatory prayer for the person praying alone and the person prayer with a group, in the audible and inaudible prayers, be it from memory, instruction, or looking at a mushaf.” (Bushra al-Karim 1/202)
The issue is dealt with a second time under the discussion of the prayer being invalidated by extraneous movements. Imam Ramli says,
ويستحب الفعل القليل لقتل نحو عقرب ويكره لغير ذلك ولو فتح كتابا وفهم مافيه أو قرأ في مصحف وإن قلب أوراقه أحيانا لم تبطل لأن ذلك يسيرا وغير متوال لا يشعر بالاعراض
“A small amount of movements are recommended when one intends to kill a scorpion and the like and disliked in other circumstances. If one opens a book and comprehends what is being read or reads from a mushaf even turning the pages at times it will not nullify the prayer because such movements are considered slight.” (Nihayat al-Muhtaj 2/51)
The following incident related by Ibn Abi Mulaykah has been cited as evidence for the validity of reciting from the mushaf in prayer,
أن عائشة كان يؤمها غلامها ذكوان في المصحف
“’Aishah used to be led in prayer by her slave Dhakwan whilst reading from the mushaf”
This was recorded by Imam Abu Dawud in Kitab al-Masahif. In Fath al-Bari, Hafiz Ibn Hajar comments on the wording في المصحف , as follows:
واستدل به على جواز قراءة المصلي من المصحف ومنع منه آخرون لكونه عملا كثيرا في الصلاة
“The permissibility of reading from the mushaf in prayer has been drawn from this and some scholars forbade the practice due to the fact that it constitutes extraneous movements in the prayer.”
Allah knows best.
Answered by: Sidi Mahmud Adams
Also see: http://www.shafiifiqh.com/?p=926