The Ruling of Following the Imam Remotely via Television, Internet or Facebook

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This fatwa was issued on the 2nd of Sha’ban 1441 AH, which coincides March 26th, 2020.

In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate. Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and peace and blessing upon the leader of messengers, Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, his household, and his companions. 

It is by Allah’s mercy that Shari’ah considers the best interests of people both in this life and the Hereafter, and it gives measure to their standard situations and their special circumstances. As such, one of the greater objectives of Shari’ah is alleviating hardship. 

Allah, Glorified and Exalted, says, 

{… And He has not placed upon you in the religion any difficulty}. (Qur’an 22: 78)

The Prophet ﷺ said, 

“I was only sent with the Tolerant Islam.”(at-Tabarani)

Furthermore, it is established by Muslim jurists that “Hardship warrants ease” and that “When a matter becomes constricted, it is to be widened”.  

Indeed we are facing dire circumstances because of the COVID-19 pandemic. It poses great danger especially because it is highly contagious, and it rapidly spreads. 

In light of this, the council has previously issued a fatwa on the suspension of daily prayers and Friday prayers in the Masjids in order to preserve the health and wellbeing of the community. The Fatwa committee of the Tri-State Imam Council urged the public to take all precautionary measures to avoid the spread of the disease. The committee agreed that Muslims should pray dhuhr prayers at home instead of Friday prayers (i.e. 4 units of prayer instead of 2), emphasizing that there is no sin or blame on them in this special circumstance. It also agreed that they should not follow any Imam in prayer via social media such as Facebook, Instagram, Skype, or television because it does not fulfill the condition of congregating. This applies to the daily prayers and the Friday prayers, and as such, Friday prayers are not obligatory upon them in this special circumstance.

This opinion has been adopted by the vast majority of contemporary Muslim jurists. The default ruling in Friday prayers is that they must be performed at a mosque or a space that would fulfill its role in a situation of necessity because Allah says, 

{O you who have believed, when [the adhan] is called for the prayer on the day of Jumu'ah [Friday], then proceed to the remembrance of Allah and leave trade. That is better for you, if you only knew.} (Qur’an 62: 9)

It is known that individuals are not exempt from the obligation of Friday prayers except with an excuse, such as illness or fear, as the Prophet ﷺ indicated. Those who have a valid excuse should pray dhuhr prayers instead of Friday prayers because of their exemption.

Consequently, those who are ill or are concerned for their wellbeing because of a contagion such as the coronavirus are exempt from Friday prayers. The reason why congregation prayers cannot be performed remotely is that the wisdom behind the mandate of congregation prayers is congregating in the Masjid and that purpose is not fulfilled by praying remotely.

The performance of acts of worship is contingent upon religious evidence, and Shari’ah has already legislated dispensations for extenuating circumstances. There is no need to legislate new dispensations when Shari’ah already has applicable dispensations.

Additionally, it should be noted that all acts of worship, including Friday prayers, have prerequisites for validity and prerequisites for obligation. The flexibility of Islamic law exempts those with valid excuses from observing acts of worship when the prerequisites of obligation are not met. It also gave them dispensations when they are not able to perform the acts of worship. 

The legal principle states: “A substitute takes the place of the default ruling, and the two rulings are one and the same; when the default ruling is not possible, the dispensation takes its ruling”. 

Thus, dhuhr prayers take the place of Friday prayers since it is not possible to congregate because of fear, and its ruling takes the place of the ruling of Friday prayers because it is its substitute. 

The scholars are deeply concerned of the outcome of those who have allowed following Imams remotely. This may lead to the abandonment of Friday prayers and the negation of Qur’anic verses that have mandated the obligation of proceeding to attend Friday prayers at the mosque. This may consequently lead to the abandonment of congregation prayers at the Masjid in general. The established Sunnah is that Friday prayers are to be performed in the Masjid, and Muslims are required to answer the call to prayer. 

As for those who said people can follow Imams remotely due to the circumstances and the necessity mandated by pandemic, our response is that there is no necessity being that we have the dispensation of not attending Friday prayers and praying dhuhr instead.

With that being said, it is acceptable to watch the Khutbah through a live feed; it has the reward of listening to a lecture or attending a class, but it does not count as a Friday prayer, and one should still pray dhuhr as 4 units of prayer.

To further clarify, in congregation prayers, the rows must be connected in. The Prophet  ﷺ  prohibited the prayer of one individual behind a row, and he commanded that it be repeated to attain the reward of congregation. How then would the ruling be in a case of utter physical disconnection?

We emphasize that this ruling is different than the one concerning the validity of performing prayers in the Masjid via the speaker system in different rooms or on different floors because they are still congregating in one physical location but are only separated because of space limitations.  It also has nothing to do with the special ruling issued for the sanctuary of Makkah because of massive crowds. 

As for praying the five daily prayers, according to the most authentic opinion, it is an emphasized Prophetic tradition (Sunnah Mu’akkadah) for every Muslim male able to perform it in congregation in the Masjid. It can be performed at home by consensus, especially when there is an extenuating circumstance. 

Regarding the supererogatory prayers (Nawafil), it is better to perform them at home as the Prophet ﷺ said, 

“The best prayer of an individual is his prayer at home except for the obligatory prayers”.

(Bukhari) 

The Prophet ﷺ also said, 

“Observe some of your prayers at your houses and do not make them graves.” 

(Bukhari & Muslim)

It is noteworthy that one of the scholars of the past century, Shaykh Al-Ghumari, may Allah have mercy upon him, mentioned in one of his old academic works that an individual can follow an Imam via radio, but the vast majority of Muslim jurists at the time objected to his opinion, among those Muslim jurists are Shaykh Mohammad Bakheet Al-Muti’i, ibn Baz, ibn Uthaymeen, Abu Zahra, Hasanayn Makhloof, Hasan Mamun, Jad Al-Haq Ali Jad Al-Haq, Mohammad Khater, Allam Nassar, Mustafa Az-Zarqa, may Allah have mercy on them all, and the Permanent Fatwa Committee of Saudi Arabia. 

Shaykh Abu Zahra mentioned that a conference had been convened in the headquarter of Liwaa Al-Islam to discuss that fatwa, and it concluded that such a prayer would be invalid. That was published in the month of Shawwal 1357 H, May 1956, Volume 2, 8th year of publication of the academic journal.

Th same opinion has been adopted by The Fiqh Council of North America and Canada (FCNA), the Assembly of Muslim Jurists of America (AMJA), the European Council for Fatwa and Research (ECFR) and the Fatwaa Committee of the Tri-State Imam council (New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut). 

And Allah knows best.

This fatwa was issued on the 2nd of Sha’ban 1441 AH, which coincides March 26th, 2020.