Congregational Prayer in the Absence of the Appointed Imam – Permissibility Before the Time Expires
Source: Fatāwā Amunpuri by Shaykh Ghulam Mustafa Zaheer Amunpuri
❖ Question:
If the prayer time is about to end and the appointed (ratib) Imam has not arrived, can another person lead the prayer without his permission?
❖ Answer:
The appointed Imam should be waited for a little while. However, if he is delayed and the time of prayer (especially the preferred time) is about to expire, then another person may lead the prayer.
Evidence from Hadith
❀ Sayyidunā Mughīrah ibn Shuʿbah (RA) narrates:
أقبلت معه حتى نجد الناس قد قدموا عبد الرحمن بن عوف فصلى لهم فأدرك رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم إحدى الركعتين فصلى مع الناس الركعة الآخرة، فلما سلم عبد الرحمن بن عوف قام رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم يتم صلاته فأفزع ذلك المسلمين فأكثروا التسبيح فلما قضى النبى صلى الله عليه وسلم صلاته أقبل عليهم ثم قال : أحسنتم أو قال : قد أصبتم، يغبطهم أن صلوا الصلاة لوقتها .
“I returned with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and found that the people had already appointed ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn ʿAwf (RA) to lead them in prayer. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ joined them and caught one rakʿah, then prayed the second rakʿah with the congregation. When ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn ʿAwf (RA) finished and said salām, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ stood up and completed his prayer. The people became worried and began saying Subḥān Allāh repeatedly. When the Prophet ﷺ finished, he turned to them and said: ‘You did well,’ or he said: ‘You were correct.’ He was pleased with them because they prayed at the right time.”
(Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: 274)
Scholarly Explanation
❀ ʿAllāmah Ibn al-ʿArabī (رحمه الله, d. 543H) said:
فيه من الفقه : إذا خيف فوات وقت الصلاة، أو فوات الوقت المختار منها ، لم ينتظر الإمام وإن كان فاضلا خيرا .
“This Hadith establishes the juristic principle that if there is fear of the prayer time ending, or the preferred time expiring, then the appointed Imam should not be waited for — even if he is a person of great virtue and excellence.”
(al-Masālik: 2/142)
Conclusion:If the appointed Imam is late to the extent that the prayer time may end (or the preferred time may pass), then it is permissible for another person to lead the prayer without his explicit permission.
