Fatwa ID: 04697

Answered by: Alimah Sabrina Saidova

Question:

The Imam of my mosque does not follow proper tajweed and makharij.

I have a mental ailment called OCD (obsessive-compulsive disorder) where the patient always looks for perfection.

Whenever I offer Salah behind him, I feel a lot of anxiety and become irritated as to why he doesn’t recite the Qur’an with perfection.

I mostly tend to offer Salah at my home but have the guilt of missing the jamaat.

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

Answer:

Praying in jamaa’ah (congregation) for men is a sunnah mu’akkadah (emphasized sunnah) which almost reaches the strength of wajib.  Therefore, a person who neglects attending congregational prayer without a valid excuse would be sinful. [1] In the case where the attendee is a medically certified OCD patient and isn’t merely using this as an excuse, he should first try finding another masjid which he can attend, so to not miss the great reward of congregational prayer as the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) says: “Salat in congregation is twenty-seven times more meritorious than a Salat performed individually”. [2] Nevertheless, if he has no other option but to pray in that masjid, and is bothered by his obsessive-compulsive disorder, then he may pray at home as a last resort.

It should also be noted that if the rules of tajweed and makharij do not compromise the meaning of the Quran the salah will be valid.

Only Allah knows best

Written by Alimah Sabrina Saidova

Checked and approved by Mufti Mohammed Tosir Miah

Darul Ifta Birmingham

[1] Durrul Mukhtaar 1/551, Darul Fikr, Beirut

[2] Sahih al-Bukhari 1/89, Qadeemi Kutub Khana