If he leads them while seated, both their prayer and his own are invalid, for the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—said: “After me, let no one lead others in prayer while seated.”
Abū ʿUmar remarked: This ḥadīth is not sound in the view of the experts of ḥadīth, because it is transmitted by Jābir al-Juʿfī as a mursal report; he is untrustworthy even in what he relates with a continuous chain, so how much more in a mursal narration. Ibn al-Qāsim further related from Mālik that he argued on the basis of what Rabīʿah ibn Abī ʿAbd al-Raḥmān reported: that the Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—came out while ill, Abū Bakr acting as imām; the Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—prayed following Abū Bakr’s prayer and said, “No prophet dies until a man from his own community has led him in prayer.”
This, however, yields no conclusive proof unless one imagines that the Prophet actually followed Abū Bakr on the assumption that the prayer of a seated imām is invalid; such conjecture must not be allowed to override explicit text, especially given the weakness of the report.
Chapter Five
On the Manner of Following the Imām
This chapter contains two issues:
- The timing of the congregant’s opening takbīr.
- The ruling on one who raises his head before the imām.
Regarding the timing of the congregant’s takbīrat al-iḥrām, Mālik considered it preferable that he pronounce it after the imām has completed his own. He said: if the congregant utters it simultaneously with the imām, it suffices, though some say it does not; but if he utters it before the imām, it is not valid.
Abū Ḥanīfah and others said: he should pronounce it along with the imām’s takbīr; if he finishes before the imām, it is invalid.
From al-Shāfiʿī there are two reports: the more famous agrees with Mālik, while the other states that if the congregant pronounces the takbīr before the imām, it is still valid.
The cause of this disagreement is two seemingly contradictory ḥadīths. One is his statement—peace and blessings be upon him—: “When he says the takbīr, say the takbīr.” The other reports that he—peace and blessings be upon him—“once opened the prayer with a takbīr, then signaled to them to remain, left, and returned with water dripping from his head.” The outward sense of this is that his own takbīr came after theirs, for he had pronounced none at first due to lacking purity. That view also rests on the principle that the congregant’s prayer is not dependent on the imām’s. Furthermore, the ḥadīth does not state whether they repeated the takbīr, and thus it should not be cited for either opinion without decisive evidence. The fundamental rule is to follow, and this can only occur after the imām has preceded, whether by the takbīr or by otherwise opening the prayer.
As for one who raises his head before the imām, the majority hold that he has acted improperly yet his prayer remains valid, and that he must return to follow the imām. Others contend that his prayer is invalid because of the threat mentioned concerning that act.