Should he pray in the mosque where there are some innovations or in the prayer-room in his building?
Question I am a student at an Islamic University in Malaysia. I am very keen to pray in congregation as much as I can in the Jaami‘ (main mosque), but I have some reservations about what some of those who lead us in prayer do of things that are not in accordance with the Sunnah…
Question
Praise be to Allah.
Offering the prayer in congregation in the mosque is
obligatory for men who are able to do it, according to the more correct of
the two scholarly opinions, because of evidence mentioned previously in the
answers to questions no. 8918
and 120.
If you can hear the call to prayer, then what you are
required to do is to pray with the congregation in the mosque. You should
advise the imam and tell him what is Sunnah; then if he insists on offering
du‘aa’ in unison, do not join in the du‘aa’. See questions no.
10268 and
105644.
What is meant by hearing the call to prayer is that if the
individual can hear the adhaan in a normal voice without a loudspeaker, if
the mu‘adhdhin raises his voice, and there is no wind or noise, or other
things that may affect one’s ability to hear it.
If you cannot hear the call to prayer, then it is permissible
for you to pray in the prayer room in your residence; in that case you
should weigh up the pros and cons, such as if your attending the mosque will
result in your having contact with ordinary people and calling them and
teaching them. In that case, it is more important for you to pray in the
mosque than to pray in the prayer room in the student residence, and so on.
And Allah knows best.
