Q. According to a Hadith in Al-Bukhari’s authentic collection, if a person joins a congregational prayer when the imam is in the bowing position, he has missed this rak’ah. Some of my friends say that one is not deemed to have missed it unless the imam has completed his bowing, raised his head and stood upright. Which is correct?
M. Nafis
A. It has been the common practice ever since the early days of Islam that a rak’ah, or a unit of prayer, is deemed to have been missed if, at the point a person joins the congregation, the imam leading the prayer has completed his bowing and lifted his head to stand up. If the newcomer catches up during the imam’s bowing and before he begins to raise his head, the newcomer need not repeat that rak’ah at the end of the imam’s prayer. This is the agreed position among all scholars.
This indeed makes sense, since the term rak’ah is derived from the same root as rukoo’, which is the Arabic word for bowing. Moreover, the imam’s Qur’anic recitation before bowing is adequate for the entire congregation. How do we reconcile this with the Hadith the reader has quoted? Most probably a portion of the meaning of the Hadith has been lost in translation. Hence the misunderstanding.
Prayer and Parents
Q.1. I live very close to a mosque, and when the congregational prayer is in progress I hear everything very clearly. Can I join the congregational prayer from my home?
Q.2. When a son starts work and earns income, his parents have access to his income and get its benefit. What about a daughter’s income and who has the right to it? Is it her husband or her parents?
S. Munfis
A.1. No, you cannot join the prayer being offered in the mosque from your home, even if you are very close. If you want to earn the reward of a congregational prayer, which is 27 times that of the same prayer offered individually, you have to join it in the mosque. The idea is that Muslims should be together, offering their prayer as a group or community. Besides, the Prophet (peace be upon him) was asked by one of his companions who was blind if he could abstain from coming to the mosque in view of his disability. The Prophet asked the man whether he could hear the call for the prayer. When he said that he could, the Prophet told him that he must come to the mosque.
A.2. The assumption that parents have the right to take their son’s income is not correct. They are certainly entitled to be looked after by their son, or indeed their daughter, if they have no or insufficient income of their own. But they do not have the right to take his money or property without his consent. In this respect, what applies to a son also applies to a daughter in the same way. Both man and woman have the same rights of ownership. They have equal status with regard to their personal and financial independence.
A woman’s husband does not have any claim to take any of his wife’s property, without her express and free consent. Both son and daughter must be dutiful to their parents and must look after them if they need to be looked after. A husband does not have any right to share his wife’s property, unless she willingly agrees.