Al-Ahkam al-Sultaniyyah - Al-Qadi Abu Ya’la Ibn al-Farra - (95)

Al-Ahkam al-SultaniyyahAl-Qadi Abu Ya’la Ibn al-Farra

for another prayer while the appointed imam remains absent, it has been said that the person approved to lead the first prayer should step forward to lead the second and subsequent prayers until the appointed imam arrives. It has also been said that a different person should be selected to lead the second prayer, lest this selection come to be regarded as a sultanic appointment. The preferable approach is to consider the circumstances of the congregation at the second prayer. If those who attended the first prayer are present for the second, the person approved to lead the first prayer has the stronger claim to lead the second. If others attend it instead, the first imam is like any one of them, and they should renew the selection of an imam to lead them.

If the imam of this mosque has led a congregation in prayer and others arrive who missed that congregation, they may not hold another congregational prayer there; rather, they should pray individually, because doing so would display separatism and expose them to the accusation of contentious opposition and dissent.

If the sultan appoints two imams to this mosque, it is permissible for him to assign each of them some of the five daily prayers. Each imam is then restricted to what has been assigned to him—for example, one may be appointed to lead the daytime prayers and the other the nighttime prayers—so neither may go beyond what has been entrusted to him. If he appoints both of them as imams without assigning particular prayers to either one, but assigns each of them a different day from his colleague’s, then on his assigned day each has a stronger claim to lead than his colleague.

If he appoints both of them without any such specification, they have equal standing with respect to leading the prayer. Whichever of them gets to it first has the stronger claim, and the other may not lead a different group in that prayer, since two congregations may not be held for the same prayer in mosques under the sultan’s authority. There is disagreement concerning the precedence that gives one of them the right to step forward: some say it is arriving at the mosque first, while others say it is having previously led the prayers there. If both imams arrive at the same time, neither having preceded the other, and they agree to put one of them forward, then that person has the stronger claim to lead the prayer.

صَلَاةٌ أُخْرَى - وَالْإِمَامُ عَلَى غَيْبَتِهِ - فَقَدْ قِيلَ: إنَّ الْمُرْتَضَى لِلصَّلَاةِ الْأُولَى يَتَقَدَّمُ فِي الثَّانِيَةِ وَمَا بَعْدَهَا إلَى أَنْ يَحْضُرَ الْإِمَامُ الْمُوَلَّى. وقيل: يختار للصلاة الثانية: بأن يُرْتَضَى لَهَا غَيْرَ الْأَوَّلِ، لِئَلَّا يَصِيرَ هَذَا الاختيار تقليدا سلطانيا. والأولى أَنْ يُرَاعَى حَالُ الْجَمَاعَةِ فِي الصَّلَاةِ الثَّانِيَةِ، فإن حضرها مَنْ حَضَرَ فِي الْأُولَى كَانَ الْمُرْتَضَى فِي الأول أَحَقَّ بِالْإِمَامَةِ فِي الصَّلَاةِ الثَّانِيَةِ، وَإِنْ حَضَرَهَا غَيْرُهُمْ كَانَ الْأَوَّلُ كَأَحَدِهِمْ، وَاسْتَأْنَفُوا اخْتِيَارَ إمَامٍ يتقدمهم. فإذا صلى إمام هذا المسجد جماعة، وحضر من لم يدرك الْجَمَاعَةَ، لَمْ يَكُنْ لَهُمْ أَنْ يُصَلُّوا فِيهِ جماعة، وصلوا فُرَادَى، لِمَا فِيهِ مِنْ إظْهَارِ الْمُبَايَنَةِ وَالتُّهْمَةِ بِالْمُشَاقَّةِ وَالْمُخَالَفَةِ. وَإِذَا قَلَّدَ السُّلْطَانُ لِهَذَا الْمَسْجِدِ إمامين، فإن خص وَاحِدٍ مِنْهُمَا بِبَعْضِ الصَّلَوَاتِ الْخَمْسِ جَازَ، وَكَانَ كل واحد منهما مقصورا على ما خص بِهِ، كَتَقْلِيدِ أَحَدِهِمَا صَلَاةَ النَّهَارِ، وَتَقْلِيدِ الْآخَرِ صلاة الليل، فلا يتجاوز وَاحِدٍ مِنْهُمَا مَا رَدَّهُ إلَيْهِ. وَإِنْ قَلَّدَ الْإِمَامَةَ مِنْ غَيْرِ تَخْصِيصِ كُلِّ وَاحِدٍ مِنْهُمَا ببعض الصلوات، ولكن رد إلى كل مِنْهُمَا يَوْمًا غَيْرَ يَوْمِ صَاحِبِهِ، كَانَ كُلُّ واحد منهما في يوم أَحَقَّ بِالْإِمَامَةِ فِيهِ مِنْ صَاحِبِهِ. فَإِنْ أَطْلَقَ تَقْلِيدَهُمَا مِنْ غَيْرِ تَخْصِيصٍ كَانَا فِي الْإِمَامَةِ سَوَاءً، وَأَيُّهُمَا سَبَقَ إلَيْهَا كَانَ أَحَقَّ بِهَا وَلَمْ يَكُنْ لِلْآخَرِ أَنْ يَؤُمَّ فِي تِلْكَ الصَّلَاةِ بِقَوْمٍ آخَرِينَ، لِأَنَّهُ لَا يَجُوزُ أَنْ يُقَامَ فِي الْمَسَاجِدِ السُّلْطَانِيَّةِ جَمَاعَتَانِ فِي صَلَاةٍ وَاحِدَةٍ. وَاخْتُلِفَ فِي السَّبْقِ الَّذِي يَسْتَحِقُّ بِهِ التقدم، فقيل: سبقه بالحضور في المسجد، وقيل: سَبْقُهُ بِالْإِمَامَةِ فِيهِ. فَإِنْ حَضَرَ الْإِمَامَانِ فِي حال واحدة، ولم يَسْبِقْ أَحَدُهُمَا صَاحِبَهُ، فَإِنْ اتَّفَقَا عَلَى تَقْدِيمِ أحدهما كان أولى بالإمامة.