Fatwa ID: 07719

Answered by: Mawlana Abdurrahman Mohammad

Question:

I led the compulsory 4 rakat of Asr Salah for two female friends (I am also female, we did a female-only jamat). However, I had already prayed my Asr beforehand. My intention was a Sunnah prayer for myself. Is this okay? Can an Imam pray Sunnah for himself/herself and the people behind them pray Fardh? If this is not okay, then shall I tell my friends to make up their prayer?

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

Answer:

In the Hanafi Madhab, when someone is praying a Fard prayer, they can only follow an Imam praying the same Fard prayer. Fatawa Hindiyyah states:

It is incorrect for the one praying Dhuhr to follow the one who is praying Asr. Or the one who is praying Dhuhr of today to follow the one who is praying Dhuhr of yesterday or [to follow] the one who is praying Jumu’ah, and vice versa. Nor [is it valid] for the one who is performing an obligatory prayer to follow the one who is performing a voluntary prayer.

If all the women praying behind you were Hanafi, kindly inform them to repeat their prayers. If the women praying behind you follow a different Madhab, ask them to consult their scholars regarding the validity of their prayers.

Only Allah knows best.

Written by Mawlana Abdurrahman Mohammad

Checked and approved by Mufti Mohammed Tosir Miah

Darul Ifta Birmingham

References:

لَا يَصِحُّ اقْتِدَاءُ مُصَلِّي الظُّهْرِ بِمُصَلِّي الْعَصْرِ وَمُصَلِّي ظُهْرِ يَوْمِهِ بِمُصَلِّي ظُهْرِ أَمْسِهِ وَبِمُصَلِّي الْجُمُعَةِ وَكَذَا عَكْسُهُ وَلَا اقْتِدَاءُ الْمُفْتَرِضِ بِالْمُتَنَفِّلِ (Al-Fatāwā Al-Hindiyya, vol. 1, pg. 86, Al-Maṭba’ah Al-Kubrā Al-Amīriyyah)