It comes in the hadith of Abu Mas'ood Al-Badri, reported by Muslim, that the Prophet ﷺ said:
22 April 2024 • 4.5K views
((وَلا يَؤُمَّنَّ الرَّجُلُ الرَّجُلَ فِي سُلْطَانِهِ...إِلا بِإِذْنِهِ))
"No man should lead another in prayer where (the latter) has authority...except with his permission."
In his commentary on Muslim, An-Nawawi rahimahullah explained:
مَعْنَاهُ: مَا ذَكَرَهُ أَصْحَابنَا وَغَيْرهمْ: أَنَّ صَاحِب الْبَيْت وَالْمَجْلِس وَإِمَام الْمَسْجِد أَحَقّ مِنْ غَيْره، وَإِنْ كَانَ ذَلِكَ الْغَيْر أَفْقَه وَأَقْرَأ وَأَوْرَع وَأَفْضَل مِنْهُ . وَصَاحِب الْمَكَان أَحَقّ فَإِنْ شَاءَ تَقَدَّمَ، وَإِنْ شَاءَ قَدَّمَ مَنْ يُرِيدهُ، وَإِنْ كَانَ ذَلِكَ الَّذِي يُقَدِّمهُ مَفْضُولا بِالنِّسْبَةِ إِلَى بَاقِي الْحَاضِرِينَ؛ لأَنَّهُ سُلْطَانه فَيَتَصَرَّف فِيهِ كَيْف شَاءَ.
"The meaning of this is that which our companions (the Shaafi'ee jurists) and others have mentioned: that the owner of the house, [place of] gathering, and the regular imam of the masjid have more right than others [in leading the prayer], even if the others are more knowledgeable, can recite better, or are more pious and virtuous than them. The owner of the place has more right, so if he wishes, he can go ahead [and lead], and if he wishes, he can appoint whoever he wants to lead, even if the one he chooses to less virtuous than the rest of the attendees, because it is his authority, and he can act as he pleases."
Questions: Who is given priority to lead prayer in the following cases?
Q1. The landlord VS. the tenant?
Sheikh Uthaymeen raḥimahullāh said:
المستأجر أولى لأن المستأجر مالِكُ المنفعة فهو أحق بالانتفاع فيه، في هذا البيت.(1)
"The tenant has precedence because the tenant is owns the right to benefit from the house, so he is more entitled to use it for his benefit."
Q2. Landlord/tenant VS. the supreme leader?
Ibn Qudamah rahimahullah states [Al-Mughni (2/173)]:
وصاحب البيت أحق بالإمامة إلا أن يكون بعضهم ذو سلطان.
"The owner of the house is more entitled to imamaship unless some of them have authority [in governance]."
Similarly, Ahmad ibn An-Naqeeb As-Shaafi'ee (D. 769H.) stated in "Umdat As-Saalik" (P. 144) that:
السلطان الأعظم والأعلى فالأعلى من القضاة والولاة يقدمون على الساكن وإمام المسجد وغيرهما.
"The supreme leader and the one of higher authority from the judges and governors take precedence over the residents [of a house], regular imam of the masjid, and others."
Q3. The regular imam of the masjid VS. the supreme leader?
Sheikh Uthaymeen raḥimahullāh said:
نقول الإمام الأعظم أحق. فلو أن الإمام الأعظم حضر إلى المسجد، الإمام الأعظم رئيس الدولة الأعلى اللي هو أعلى سلطة في الدولة، لو حضر قلنا إنه أولى من إمام المسجد...بالإمامة استدلوا بعموم قوله صلى الله عليه وسلم (ولا يؤمّنّ الرجل الرجل في سلطانه) ولكن قد يقول قائل الإمام في مسجده سلطان وهذه سلطة أخَصّ من سلطة الإمام الأعظم لكنهم أجابوا فقالوا إن سلطته دون سلطة السلطان الأعظم فسلطة السلطان الأعظم أقوى بدليل أنه يمكن للسلطان الأعظم أن يزيل هذا عن منصبه فصار سلطة السلطان الأعظم أقوى وإذا كانت أقوى كان السلطان الأعظم أحق بالإمامة. (1)
"We say that the supreme leader has precedence. So if the supreme leader, who is the head of state and the highest authority in the country, were to attend the masjid, we would say that he is more entitled than the masjid's regular imam. They base their argument on the general statement of the Prophet ﷺ: "No man should lead another man in his domain." However, someone might argue that the imam has authority in his masjid, which is a specific type of authority different from that of the supreme leader. But they responded by saying that his authority is subordinate to the authority of the supreme leader. The proof is that the supreme leader can remove him from his position, thus the authority of the supreme leader is stronger. And if it is stronger, then the supreme leader is more entitled to imamahship."
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(1) https://alathar.net/home/esound/index.php?op=codevi&coid=97451