The Mufti Abdul Azeez Aali-Shaykh, hafidahullah, said,
بالنسبة لصلاة التراويح في البيوت خلال شهر رمضان لهذا العام لتعذر إقامتها في المساجد بسبب الإجراءات الاحترازية التي اتخذتها الجهات المختصة لمكافحة انتشار فيروس كورونا الجديد، فإن الناس يصلونها في بيوتهم تحصيلا لفضيلة قيام ليالي رمضان المباركة، ولثبوت صلاة النبي قيام رمضان في بيته، ولا يخفى أن صلاة التراويح سنة وليست واجبة…صلاة العيد إذا استمر الوضع القائم ولم يتمكن إقامتها في المصليات والمساجد المخصصة لها فإنها تصلى في البيوت بدون خطبة بعدها
“In relation to establishing Salaat at-Taraweeh this Ramadan in one’s home, if it is not possible to establish in the masjids due to the restrictions and measures that have been taken by the officials to curb the spread of the coronavirus, in this case the people should pray taraweeh in their homes so they could attain the merits of the standing during the blessed nights of Ramadan. Also, [this action is permissible] since it is has been affirmed from the Prophet ﷺ that he prayed the night prayer during Ramadan in his house. Likewise, it is not hidden that the taraweeh prayer is sunnah and is not obligatory. Also, in relation to the Eid prayer, if this current situation continues and it is not possible to establish it in the Musala or in the designated masjids for it, then in that case it is to be prayed in the houses without performing the khutbah after it.” End translation. [Source: an official press release]
The above advice is what we should be implementing concerning the taraweeh prayer during the COVID-19 pandemic and we shouldn’t conduct Jum`ah or Taraweeh online as a temporary measure since it will be against the advice of the senior scholars of our time. Also, doing so could possibly being a reason for our prayers not to being accepted if prayed in such a manner.
Ash-Shaykh Muhammad bin Saalih al-Uthaymeen, rahimahullah, was asked the following question,
Question:
“If I am at home and the prayer for Taraweeh in Makkah is being livestreamed through the television in front of me, is it allowed for me to pray with them [from home] and will I get the reward of praying the night prayer?”
Answer:
“No. What I see is that you should bring the television sets and let them pray behind each other [the Shaykh begins to laugh]. As for praying behind the television, then no person should do so. If this door was opened, people would begin to pray from their homes and they will not come to the masjids. Even worse, they will not come for Jum’ah; the person would just remain in his home and pray Jum’ah behind the television. This would be something evil even for a woman. Let her come and pray in the masjid, or else it is not permitted for her to pray from home with the Jama’ah [in the masjid].”
Also Ash-Shaykh Saalih Al-Fawzaan, hafidahullah, was asked the following question,
Question:
“Is the prayer of a woman valid if she is following the taraweeh prayer through the television since she hasn’t memorized the Quran and she wants to read the whole Quran for Ramadan?”
Answer:
“How could that be when the Imam is in one direction and you are in another direction? This is not appropriate. The only way is for her to actually pray behind the Imam in the masjid or in a place connected to it. As for following the prayer through the television, then this is not allowed since there is a distance between the Imam and the person, and also due to the possibility of them facing different directions as the Imam could be in the East and she could be in the West or vice versa. The live broadcast on the television streams [the salaat] from a far distance. It is not even allowed for the neighboring houses to the masjid who could hear the salaat through the speaker to follow when praying since they aren’t in the masjid nor are they in a place connected to it; they aren’t in a valid place to follow the Imam in prayer. Therefore, this ruling applies to the television which broadcasts the prayer from a far distance with greater preference.”
The Lajnah ad-Daa’imah stated,
نرى أنه لا يجوز أن يصلي في بيته منفرداً أو في جماعة مستقلة عن جماعة المسجد أو مقتدٍ بإمام المسجد عن طريق الإذاعة.
“What we see is that it is not permissible to pray individually or in a congregation separate from the Jama’ah in the masjid or by following the imam of the masjid from home through a broadcast”. End translation [Fatwa (#1759)]
Also Ash-Shaykh Albani, rahimahullah, was asked the following question,
Questioner:
“What is the ruling on praying behind the radio?”
Shaykh:
“I recall that some of the shuyookh from the people of innovations and superstitions wrote a treatise. Listen carefully [as] you will be amazed [since] its called ‘Satisfying others concerning the validity of praying behind the radio'”
Questioner:
“La hawla wa laquwata illa billah”
Shaykh:
“Allah Akbar, may Allah protect us [from deviation].”
As well Ash-Shaykh Muhammad bin Saalih al-Uthaymeen, rahimahullah, was asked the following question,
Question:
“Is it permissible for a Muslim to pray by following the salaat that is streamed on the television or on the radio without physically seeing the imam especially in relation to the women?”
Answer:
“It is not permitted for anyone to follow the imam through the means of the radio or through the television since Salaat al-Jama’ah is meant for people to come together [physically]. Therefore, they must be in the same location or in a place where the rows aren’t interrupted. It is not permitted to pray through the means of the television or the radio since the objective will be missed and if we were to open this door, then it would become possible for everyone else to pray the five daily prayers and even the Jum’ah prayer from their homes and this would oppose what Jum’ah and Jama’ah were legislated for. Therefore, it is not allowed for the women nor other than them to pray behind the television or the radio. And Allah is the source to success.” End translation. [Reference]
Also this ruling applies as well for praying Jum’ah online.
Ash-Shaykh Muhammad bin Saalih al-Uthaymeen, rahimahullah, was asked the following question,
Questioner:
“Is it permissible to establish the Jum’ah prayer from home if the masjid is far or if he is following a live broadcast of it?”
Answer:
“It is not permitted to establish the Jum’ah salaat except with the Muslims in the masjid. However, if the masjid becomes full and the rows are connected to [and extend to] the streets outside, there is no harm in praying outside in the streets due to the necessity. As for a person praying from home or from his shop, then that is not permissible and not allowed for him to do so since what is intended from the Jum’ah prayer and the Jama’ah prayer is that the Muslims come together and form one group so that they can attain harmony and mercy for one another and so that the ignorant among them learns from the knowledgeable from them. If we were to open this door for everyone to pray from home by following the radio broadcast or by following the prayer on the speaker, then there wouldn’t have been any benefit in building the masjids and having people attend prayers there. Therefore, what is obliged upon the person is to make an effort to pray in the masjids with the Muslims.
Questioner:
“What is the ruling on praying following the salaat through the radio whether it be for Jum’ah prayer or the other prayers?”
Answer:
“As preceded, it is not valid nor is it permissible to follow when praying since it will eventually lead to abandoning off the Jum’ah and Jama’ah prayers if this door was opened.” End translation. [Reference]
The senior scholars have released a verdict that the people should pray Dhur at their homes during this crisis instead of praying the Jum’ah prayer and as well have advised that the people pray taraweeh at home if the Covid-19 pandemic continues to Ramadan.
Note: Some scholars have addressed the fact that some have misinterpreted in recent times the opinions of some of the scholars of the past concerning praying from home since those opinions are in relation to houses that are connected to the masjids or in a scenario where the rows of the salaat extend to the houses and they are not concerning praying from home while not being physically connected to the Salaat.
Compiled by
AbdulFattaah Bin Uthman
Abu Fajr
