Sorry if the title seems appropriate. I just have no idea how else to put it.
Will the jemaah's prayers be accepted if the imam goes at a very very fast pace? I am NOT referring to solat Jumaat, Terawih, Maghrib, Isyak or Subuh.
But rather the casual solat Zuhur and 'Asr whereby a person may offer to lead in solat (in a musollah) for another 1 to perhaps 3 more, a small jemaah prayer. As we know, Al-Fatihah and other surahs for the first 2 rakaat (for Zuhur and 'Asr especially) are not recited out loud. And there are occasions whereby the imam could have been a student of other mazhabs.
The jemaah might not be able to catch up in all parts of the solat. Our hearts might even go as far as wondering if the imam recited correctly
Will our solat be accepted? How do we react? Is there a sahih Hadith on this? I've not yet completed reading hadith books but if someone out there is familiar, would be grateful if you could share here. Thank you.
Hidayat gave a good question, though I do not think some Muslims will take it lightly. Anyway, there are a few reasons,
1) Deficiency in understanding Arabic. I guess this is a key reason to why people may start this trend popularly. Especially the younger Muslims who are least educated in Arabic/ Islamic/ Quranic verses or words, where prayers become norm of a repetitve rituals rather than a time of reflection.
2) Complaints. I guess in Singapore (including Muslims in general), we are society geared towards complaints. Hence I guess too short or too long in prayer is somethings Muslim imams have take in consideration, especially on prayer times since some ppl were at work or meetings .
Regarding the opinion of acceptance or validity of prayer, I prefer not to answer since I do not have any academic authority, even if I have read the books which are varied. But as hidayat has posted already when he said, "How do we react.." is a good point in tackling the issue first-hand. Speeding problems...needs speeding limits to be defined in the answer .
Yes I reflected on it and even wondered "should I perform my zuhur again?" What if I meet the same person and he again offers to lead in prayer? It won't be nice to reject.
If I do lead the prayer, I do my utmost best Insya-Allah. Because the imam shoulders a great responsibility in the view of Allah SWT.
In this secular country, and fast paced society, solat 5 times a day is as relevant as ever. We are bound to commit sins and most of which might not be realised. Sometimes our daily conversations might also be as far as "fitnah" but we fail to realise because everyone's doing it. With the evolution of so many discussion forums, we tend to engage in unhealthy criticisms.
So yes I'm unsure whether I should move on and tawakkal to Rabbil'Alamin that I've completed my prayer, or should I perform once more.
And when I mean speeding imam, i meant really fast. As I mentioned in my first post, it's not like those we encounter in terawih prayers during Ramadhan. Example: I'm reciting rather fast and in the midst of "Ihdinas siraatal mustaqeem" during 2nd Rakaat and the Imam has already rukuk. I said 2nd rakaat taking into consideration it does not have doa Iftitah.
if u find the imam is incapable of leading the prayers, just make a quick request to allah to excuse u from the gathered prayer, then go to another corner to pray on your own. If fridays prayers, sorry u got to tolerate the imam..other prayers u can do that.
Hmm..quite an acceptable answer from ahxuan. But how about the imams, should we advise (in terms of rights and good intention) the imam on this issue of "speeding limit"? :)
Sometimes, in my personal view the "2 fast 2 furious" praying imams could have some implications on the view of the Muslim community too, especially on young Muslims or converts (at times maybe potential converts), who do not understand what the whole prayer/sura means. A short sura but slower recitation could help the Muslims to reflect on the meaning and beauty of the sura, especially as Quran is revealed as a reminder to mankind. My opinion only.
If the imam is speeding, perhaps he thinks that to lengthen the prayer would be burdening the jemaah or he heard a child crying or (insert excuse for imam here).
In any case, as Muslims, we should think best of him, since we have already chosen him to be the imam. If we think we would make a better imam, we should step forward early (this is not being proud, this is is putting something in the right place or adab, i.e. a more knowledgeable, more experienced person as imam as opposed to someone lacking experience or knowledge).
Also, this issue of speeding imams ceases to be an issue when we learn and understand: the integrals of prayer, what is obligatory and what is encouraged, what is required when we pray in a jemaah.
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