Question
Salam Imam, if a person is travelling, and he leads a prayer followed by residents, should he pray 2 rak‘at and the residents stand after tasleem? Or how should it be done?
Answer
Alhamdulillah, wassalatu wassalamu ala rasulillah, wa ala alihi wa sahbihi ajmain.
1) Principle of Imam and Ma’mum (follower)
The Prophet ﷺ said: “The imam has only been appointed to be followed. So do not differ with him …” (Bukhari, Muslim).
- The imam prays according to his own circumstance, whether musafir (traveler) or muqim (resident).
- The ma’mum (follower) completes according to his own obligation.
2) Case of a Musafir (traveler) Leading Muqims (residents)
- If the imam is a musafir (traveler), his fard is 2 rak‘at in Dhuhr, Asr, and Isha. He leads the muqims (residents) for 2 rak‘at, then gives tasleem.
- The muqims (residents) must then stand up and complete 2 more rak‘at on their own, because their fard is 4 rak‘at.
This is exactly what ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) explained: “We used to pray with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ two rak‘at (when traveling), and when we returned with residents we prayed four.” (Muslim).
3) Case of a Muqim (resident) Leading Musafirs (travelers)
If the imam is a muqim (resident), he prays 4 rak‘at, and the musafirs (travelers) must also pray 4 behind him, even though their personal prayer when alone would be 2 rak‘at.
Final Ruling
- If a musafir (traveler) leads muqims (residents), he prays 2 rak‘at and then gives tasleem. The muqims (residents) must then stand up and complete the remaining 2 rak‘at.
- If a muqim (resident) leads musafirs (travelers), everyone prays 4 rak‘at.
- This preserves the principle: the imam prays according to his state, and the ma’mum (follower) completes according to his obligation.
And Allah knows best.