Fatwa #492610 April 2002Australia
Is it haram to think you are better than one who doesn’t pray five times a day?
Question
1) Is it haram to think you are better than one who doesn?t pray five times a day? 2)At the mosque, when the prayers are finished, dhikr is done collectively, with a person saying out loud Subhanallah and everyone inside themselves saying it 33 times, then the same for Alhamdulillah, Allahu Akbar. Is this bidah? 3)Isn?t it possible that some of the things that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said during his prophethood has not been conveyed fully by some of the Sahabah due to various reasons (eg. memory, etc)? I mean they are human and CAN make mistakes at times Please provide detailed and accurate answers.
Answer
1. Yes, it is incorrect to think that one is better than someone else. Allah%0D%0Ais the true judge of everyone.%0D%0A2. This is not referred to as collective Dhikr. Collective Dhikr is referred%0D%0Ato a form of Dhikr where all participants say the Dhikr aloud at the same%0D%0Atime. In the case mentioned by you, the Imaam merely says 'Subhaanallah' or%0D%0A'Alhamdulillah' once and the congregation thereafter recite the same%0D%0Asilently. So the Imaam's saying so is more of a 'reminder' to engage in%0D%0ADhikr of this sort.%0D%0A3. Yes, they were humans and could have made mistakes. However, the degree%0D%0Aof authenticity of the Ahaadith, etc. is based upon the chain of narrators%0D%0Ain terms of reliability and number. In other words, the more the narrators,%0D%0Athe more authenticity is added to the Hadith. So when a number of Sahaabah%0D%0Anarrate a particular Hadith, the authenticity of the Hadith is further%0D%0Aenhanced manifold.%0D%0A%0D%0Aand Allah Ta'ala Knows Best%0D%0A%0D%0AMufti Muhammad Kadwa%0D%0AFATWA DEPT.%0D%0A%0D%0ACHECKED AND APPROVED CORRECT: Mufti Ebrahim Desai