Acting Upon the Instruction of a Non-Praying Person During Salah
Source: Aḥkām wa Masā’il – Discussion on Ṣalāh, Volume 1, Page 135
❖ Question (Summary)
Ḥadīth of al-Barāʾ ibn ʿĀzib (RA):
"The Messenger of Allah ﷺ prayed facing Bayt al-Maqdis for sixteen or seventeen months."
The narration further states:
"A man prayed with the Prophet ﷺ, then after prayer he passed by a group of Anṣār praying ʿAṣr facing Bayt al-Maqdis. He said: ‘I bear witness that I prayed with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and he has turned towards the Kaʿbah.’ Hearing this, they turned their direction until they were facing the Kaʿbah."
(Reported by al-Bukhārī, Bāb al-Tawajjuh Nahw al-Qiblah Ḥaythu Kāna from Kitāb al-Ṣalāh)
❖ Answer
Al-ḥamdu lillāh, waṣ-ṣalātu wa-s-salāmu ʿalā Rasūlillāh, Ammā Baʿd!
From this noble ḥadīth, the following ruling is derived:
◈ If a person is engaged in prayer and hears a religious instruction related to Salah from someone who is not praying, he may act upon it during the same Salah, and this is permissible in Sharīʿah.
◈ Example: If an Imam makes a mistake in recitation and a non-praying person corrects him (gives luqmah), it is permissible for the Imam to accept it and correct his recitation.
This ruling is established from the above ḥadīth, as the Anṣār, while in prayer, changed their direction towards the Kaʿbah upon hearing the information of a non-praying man — and this action is validated by the Prophet ﷺ.
"ھذا ما عندي والله أعلم بالصواب"
