Musaafir taking the place of the Imaam in Salaah

· 12 Dhuʻl-Qiʻdah 1444 AH1 min readEnglish

Question

A Musaafir reads Salaah behind a resident Imaam and the Imaam’s Wudhu breaks. The Imaam the appoints a Musaafir to lead the Salaah in his place. Will he read full Salaah, or will he terminate the Salaah as he is a Musaafir and performs Qasr?

Answer

If a Musaafir takes the place of the resident Imaam (and leads the congregation) in the case where the Imaam’s Wudhu is nullified, then the Salaah of the residents (Muqeems) will be nullified. Hence, a Musaafir should not be appointed as the Imaam in such an instance.

References (Arabic / Urdu sources)

إذَا اسْتَخْلَفَ مُسَافِرًا فَقَامَ فَاقْتَدُوا بِهِ بَطَلَتْ صَلَاةُ الْمُقِيمِينَ دُونَ الْمُسَافِرِينَ الْمُدْرِكِينَ. وَهَذَا ظَاهِرٌ وَنَظِيرُهُ مَا لَوْ كَانَ الْخَلِيفَةُ مَسْبُوقًا فَقَامَ بَعْدَ فَرَاغِ صَلَاةِ الْإِمَامِ وَتَابَعُوهُ تَبْطُلُ صَلَاةُ الْمَسْبُوقِينَ وَاللَّاحِقِينَ دُونَ الْمُدْرِكِينَ (تبيين الحقائق ص151 ج1)

Answered by
Maulana Ahmed Saeed
Checked & approved by
Mufti Mohammed Desai
Questions about this ruling, answered only from the archive with sources.

Where scholars differ, it’s safer to take the more cautious view.

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