Al-Sharḥ al-Mumtiʿ - Ibn al-'Uthaymin - (4/183)

Al-Sharḥ al-MumtiʿIbn al-'Uthaymin

the imam, not knowing that this is prohibited and not knowing that he must return until the imam catches up with him, then his prayer is valid.

“If he bows and rises before his imam bows, knowingly and deliberately, his prayer is invalid. If he is ignorant or forgetful, only that rak‘ah is invalid. And if he bows and rises before the imam bows, then prostrates before the imam rises, his prayer is invalid—except in the case of one who is ignorant or forgetful, in which case he makes up that rak‘ah.”

His statement, “If he bows and rises before his imam bows, knowingly and deliberately, his prayer is invalid,” means that if he bows and rises before his imam bows, his prayer is invalid, because he has preceded the imam by the pillar of bowing. A person is not considered to have preceded the imam by a pillar unless he moves on from it to the pillar that follows it. Thus, if he bows and the imam catches up with him while he is still bowing, he is not considered to have preceded the imam by a pillar. Rather, we say that he preceded the imam in reaching the pillar, for the pillar in which the imam catches up with him is not considered a pillar by which he preceded him; rather, it is one to which he preceded him.

His statement, “If he is ignorant or forgetful, only that rak‘ah is invalid,” means that if he bows and rises before his imam, out of ignorance or forgetfulness, only the rak‘ah in which this precedence occurred is invalid. He must therefore make it up after the imam gives the salām.

In summary, if he precedes the imam by the pillar of bowing—by bowing and rising before the imam has bowed—then, if he did so deliberately, his prayer is invalid. If he did so out of ignorance or forgetfulness, only that rak‘ah is invalid, because he did not follow his imam in that bowing. He is therefore like one who did not catch the imam in it and thus missed that rak‘ah. But if he performs it after his imam, his rak‘ah is valid.

His statement, “If he bows and rises before the imam bows, then prostrates before the imam rises, his prayer is invalid—except in the case of one who is ignorant or forgetful, in which case he makes up that rak‘ah.”

الإمامِ وهو لا يعرفُ أنَّ هذا حرامٌ، ولا يعرفُ أنَّه يجبُ عليه الرجوعُ حتى لَحِقَهُ الإِمامُ فصلاتُه صحيحةٌ. وَإِنْ رَكَعَ وَرَفَعَ قَبْلَ رُكُوع إِمَامِهِ عَالِماً عَمْداً بَطَلَتْ، وَإِنْ كَانَ جَاهِلاً أَوْ نَاسِياً بَطَلَتْ الرَّكْعَةُ فَقَطْ. وَإِنْ رَكَعَ وَرَفَعَ قَبْلَ رُكُوْعِهِ، ثُمَّ سَجَدَ قَبْلَ رَفْعِهِ بَطَلَتْ إِلاَّ الجَاهِلَ وَالنَّاسِيَ، وَيُصَلِّي تِلْكَ الرَّكْعَةَ قَضَاءً. قوله: «وإن ركع ورفع قبل إمامه عالماً عمداً بطلت»، أي: إنْ رَكَعَ ورَفَعَ قبلَ ركوعِ إمامِهِ؛ بطلتْ صلاتُهُ؛ لأنَّه سَبَقَ الإِمامَ برُكنِ الرُّكوعِ، ولا يُعَدُّ سابقاً بالرّكنِ حتى ينتقلَ منه إلى الرُّكنِ الذي يليه، فلو رَكَعَ ولَحِقَهُ الإِمامُ في الرُّكوعِ فلا يُعَدُّ سابقاً للإمامِ برُكنٍ، بل نقول: إنَّه سَبَقَ الإِمامَ إلى الرُّكنِ، فإنَّ الرُّكنَ الذي يدركه فيه الإمامُ لا يُعَدُّ سابقاً به، بل سابقاً إليه. قوله: «وإن كان جاهلاً أو ناسياً بطلت الركعة فقط»، أي: إذا رَكَعَ ورَفَعَ قبلَ إمامِهِ جاهلاً أو ناسياً بطلت الرَّكعةُ التي حصلَ فيها هذا السَّبْقُ فقط، فيلزمُه قضاؤها بعد سلامِ الإمامِ. والحاصل: أنه إذا سَبَق برُكنِ الرُّكوعِ بأن رَكَعَ ورَفَعَ قبلَ أن يركعَ الإمامُ، فإن كان عمداً بطلتْ صلاتُه، وإنْ كان جهلاً أو نسياناً بطلتْ الرَّكعةُ فقط؛ لأنَّه لم يقتدِ بإمامِهِ في هذا الرُّكوعِ، فصار كمَن لم يدركْهُ ففاتته الرَّكعةُ، لكن إنْ أتى بذلك بعدَ إمامِهِ صحَّت ركعتُه. قوله: «وإن ركع ورفع قبل ركوعه ثم سجد قبل رفعه بطلت إلا الجاهل والناسي، ويصلّي تلك الركعة قضاء».