The Traveller Praying A Different Prayer Behind A Resident Imaam

The Traveller Praying A Different Prayer Behind A Resident Imaam

By

 Shaykh al-Albani

Translated by

Abbas Abu Yahya

Shaykh al-Albani quotes from the book 'Fiqh-us-Sunnah' :    

"....if a traveller does not find another traveller to lead him in prayer, then he should shorten the prayer and pray by himself.  It is disliked to be led in prayer by a resident person."

Shaykh al-Albani says:

'I say: As for this dislike, then even though it is devoid of evidence, it also opposes the Sunnah which was narrated by the scholar of the Ummah, Abdullaah bin 'Abbas -radiAllaah anhu. 

Musa bin Salamah mentioned: 'We were with Ibn Abbas in Makkah and I said to him: ‘When we are with you we pray four rakat prayers and when we return to our temporary residences we pray two rakat prayers?'  He answered: 'That is the Sunnah of Abul-Qassim - sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam.'’

Narrated by Ahmad with an authentic chain and it was also narrated in a summarized form by Muslim, Abu 'Awaana and other than them.  It has been researched in 'al-Irwaa' (571).

Taken from 'Tamam al-Minnah' p.371 by Shaykh al-Albani

·      Additional evidence reported from Saheeh al-Bukhari

On the authority of Jaabir bin 'Abdullah who said, "Mu'adh bin Jabal used to pray with the Prophet and then go to lead his people in prayer once he led the 'Isha' prayer and recited Soorat "Al-Baqarah." Somebody left the prayer and Mu'adh criticized him. The news reached the Prophet and he said to Mu'adh, 'You are putting the people to trial,' and repeated it thrice (or said something similar) and ordered him to recite two medium Suras of Mufassal." ('Amr said that he had forgotten the names of those Suras).

Also narrated by Jaabir bin 'Abdullah that Mu'adh used to pray with the Prophet and then go and lead his people (tribe) in the prayer.

Both hadeeth have been mentioned in the Book of Adhan from Saheeh al-Bukhari