Fatwa ID: 03888

Answered by: Maulana Belaal Ahmed

Question

Would insisting upon praying 'Īd/ Jumu'ah salāt in one's driveway, as opposed to the living room, to better facilitate الإذن العام constitute takalluf?

بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمنِ الرَّحِيْم

In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

Answer:

In regards to the question asked, my humble opinion is that one should pray in ones living room, as it is a better option. The reason for this is that with all the rules and regulations by the government (due to the COVID-19), we as Muslims should not give others the chance to make us easy targets and means for others to target Islam.

Inshallah, if we keep in mind the rules and regulations laid down by the government then it will be a lot easier for us as Muslims as a whole when the lockdown is uplifted.

In regards to rulings, I would like to mention a few which may help in the following situation.

Firstly: Difficulty brings ease. 

Secondly: Preventing trouble (fitna) is better than gaining benefits.

I have mentioned above two rulings which I would like to fit into this particular scenario. Firstly, inshallah, if we as Muslims till now have been patient in regards to lockdown rulings, we just need a little more patience, and inshallah Allah will make it easy.

Secondly, in times like this where Muslims can very easily become easy targets, if there is something that can be prevented, for example, praying inside homes rather than outside, then it will be better to pray indoors.

In conclusion, it will be better to pray indoors and the above two rules may help in understanding the reason behind this opinion. (Extracted from Al qawaidul fiqhiyaah ma sharhil mujaz)

Only Allah knows best

Written by Maulana Belaal Ahmed

Checked and approved by Mufti Mohammed Tosir Miah

Darul Ifta Birmingham