Fatwa #59301 July 2002South Africa
Is performing Salaat in congregation Sunnat or Fard?
Question
Salaams. (1)Is performing Salaat in congregation Sunnat or Fard? I have been performing much of my Salaat at home and only a few of my daily Salaat are performed in the Mosque with Jamaat. Is the Salaat i performed at home accepted by Allah or is it rejected because i havent performed it with Jamaat?? (2)Also can you please tell me why many Hadith are used to make rulings.For example why dont we just follow 1 Hadith(ie Bukhari) rather than following 1 thing from Bukhari and another thing from another Hadith?? This is because,for example, in Bukhari shareef it says that we must say 'Ameen' after Surah Fatiha loudly, and in another Hadith it says we should say it softly, so why dont we follow what is being said in this Hadith(Bukhari)? Please clarify...Jazakallah
Answer
1. For males to perform Salaat in Jamat is Waajib. Salaat performed%0D%0Aindividually is valid. However, as long as there is no valid excuse, one%0D%0Ashould attend the Jamaat in the Musjid.%0D%0A2. The same question then arises, why don't we just follow the Ahaadith of%0D%0ASaheeh Muslim? Why particularly Saheeh Bukhari? The other Kitaabs of%0D%0AAhaadith also contain authentic Ahaadith. It is not just Saheeh Bukhari that%0D%0Ahas authentic Ahaadith. Imam Bukhari has not delved into a broad spectrum of%0D%0Aissues. In fact, relatively speaking, Bukhari Shareef has much fewer%0D%0AAhaadith than the other Kitaabs of Hadith. It, thus, follow that issues not%0D%0Amentioned by Imaam Bukhari, we will have to follow some other books. Now,%0D%0Awithout any sound knowledge, and without proper fear of Allah Ta'ala we will%0D%0Aeventually end up picking and choosing according to our fancies. It is,%0D%0Athus, best for us to stick to one Madhab.%0D%0A%0D%0Aand Allah Ta'ala Knows Best%0D%0A%0D%0AMoulana Imraan Vawda%0D%0AFATWA DEPT.%0D%0A%0D%0ACHECKED AND APPROVED CORRECT: Mufti Ebrahim Desai