Question:
Assalamualaikum wrm. wbt.
I have a question. Recently, there are institutions or parties which violated the government’s directive and still performed the Friday prayer in their respective institutions. This is a clear violation of the order issued by the government which restrict the Friday prayer as well as any mass gathering throughout the movement control order as an effort to stop the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. My question is, are they considered as sinful and are their Friday prayer considered as valid considering that they have violated the directive of the government even when they fulfilled all the other valid conditions of Friday prayer? Hope for an explanation for this matter.
Answer:
Waalaikumussalam wrm. wbt.,
Alhamdulillah, praise and thanks to Allah for the countless blessings He has blessed us all with. Blessings and salutations to the Prophet Muhammad PBUH, his wives, his family, companions and all those that follow his teachings to the day of judgement.
We will start with the words of the Prophet PBUH:
نَحْنُ الآخِرُونَ السَّابِقُونَ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ، بَيْدَ أَنَّهُمْ أُوتُوا الْكِتَابَ مِنْ قَبْلِنَا، ثُمَّ هَذَا يَوْمُهُمُ الَّذِى فُرِضَ عَلَيْهِمْ فَاخْتَلَفُوا فِيهِ، فَهَدَانَا اللَّهُ، فَالنَّاسُ لَنَا فِيهِ تَبَعٌ، الْيَهُودُ غَدًا وَالنَّصَارَى بَعْدَ غَدٍ
"We (Muslims) are the last (to come) but (will be) the foremost on the Day of Resurrection though the former nations were given the Holy Scriptures before us. And this was their day (Friday) the celebration of which was made compulsory for them but they differed about it. So, Allah gave us the guidance for it (Friday) and all the other people are behind us in this respect: the Jews' (holy day is) tomorrow (i.e. Saturday) and the Christians' (is) the day after tomorrow (i.e. Sunday)."
Sahih al-Bukhari (876) and Sahih Muslim (855)
The Friday prayer is among the special advantages for the ummah of the Prophet PBUH so that they attain the honour of Friday. (See al-Fiqh al-Manhaji, 1/198)
Generally, the Friday prayer is valid if it fulfils the valid conditions of Friday prayer set by scholars. However, scholars have differing opinions regarding the conditions, there are some who accept it as the condition and there are some who rejects it.
Coming back to the question asked, we see that this issue includes the valid condition of Friday prayer which is closely related with the permission from the ruler where this condition has differing opinions by scholars.
General Permission to Perform Friday Prayer
Scholars of madhhab Hanafi has set a condition that the general permission for Friday prayer must first be obtained. Ibn Nujaim al-Misr al-Hanafi explained that the general permission means that to perform the Friday prayer it must be announced, which means that when a ruler closes the entrances to his fort (blocking the entry of outside people) and perform the Friday prayer inside of it with only its occupants and soldiers, the Friday prayer is invalid… if the entrances are opened and outside people are permitted entry (to perform the Friday prayer together), the Friday prayer is valid but makruh (undesirable) for it neglects the right of Masjid Jamek. The reason is, the Friday prayer is an eminence of Islam and special for this ummah, thus, to perform it, it must be announced (to the public). (See al-Bahr al-Raiq, 2/162-163)
Dr Wahbah al-Zuhaili said that the general permission is needed to perform the Friday prayer (according to madhhab Hanafi) for every assembly would need the permission of the ruler to attend it. Thus, an assembly or gathering cannot be held without permission (of the government). (See Mausu’ah al-Fiqh al-Islami wa al-Qadhaya al-Mu’asirah, 2/250)
The same is stated by Syeikh al-Islam Burhan al-Din al-Marghinani, it is impermissible to perform Friday prayer without the directive by the ruler or whoever given the authority by it (as the Imam and khatib) for it is to be performed in Masjid Jamek. The reason is, there is a possibility that there will be a dispute as to who should lead (the imam) or prioritized. Thus, the directive of who should be the imam and khatib must come from the ruler to complete the obligation of Friday prayer. (See al-Hidayah Syarh Bidayah al-Mubtadi, 1/82)
Whereas the jumhur of the scholar state that the permission from the ruler or even the attendance is not a valid condition of Friday prayer for Ali bin Abi Talib RA acted as the imam of Friday prayer when Uthman was under siege. None among the Companions contradict this matter. Even Uthman himself permitted it by ordering people to pray with them when he said:
الصَّلاَةُ أَحْسَنُ مَا يَعْمَلُ النَّاسُ، فَإِذَا أَحْسَنَ النَّاسُ، فَأَحْسِنْ مَعَهُمْ، وَإِذَا أَسَاءُوا فَاجْتَنِبْ إِسَاءَتَهُمْ
"As-Salat (the prayers) is the best of all deeds so when the people do good deeds do the same with them and when they do bad deeds, avoid those bad deeds."
Sahih al-Bukhari (695)
Furthermore, the Friday prayer is fardhu ain. Thus, it is not conditioned for it to have the permission of the ruler just as the Zuhur prayer does not need for permission (from the ruler to perform it). It is also the same for other prayers. (See al-Mughni, 2/245; Badai’ al-Sanai’ fi Tartib al-Syarai’, 1/268 and Mausu’ah al-Fiqh al-Islami wa al-Qadhaya al-Mu’asirah, 2/250)
Hence, we are inclined to the opinion that state the permission from ruler or attendance is not a valid condition of Friday prayer as stated by the opinion of jumhur of scholars from madhhab Maliki, Syafie and Hanbali.
Violating the Directive of the Government from Performing the Friday Prayer to Stop the Spread of the COVID-19 Pandemic
Coming back to the question asked, in our opinion, the Friday prayer performed is valid if it fulfils all the valid conditions but it is sinful for it violated the directive of the government.
The reason is, the government reserves the right to implement any policy and rule for the maslahah of the people. It is clear that the restriction against mass gathering, which includes Friday prayer throughout the duration of the movement control order is for the maslahah of the people which is to stop the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. There are also no elements of transgression in the directive issued, for it involves the prioritization of the maslahah of the people, where the decision for the implementation of it is only issued after a comprehensive and in-depth discussion with various bodies of authorities and experts of each field, in accordance with the statement of Allah SWT in surah al-Nahl verse 43, which refers to ahl al-Zikr or the experts of their fields.
This is also in line with the Islamic legal maxim which states:
دَرْءُ الْمَفَاسِدِ أَولَى مِن جَلب المصَالِح
“Removing mafsadah (harm) is prioritized compared to bringing goodness.”
Thus, the directive issued is the government’s best effort in trying to remove any possible factors that could lead to a greater harm, although it has to leave several certain maslahah.
Hence, obeying the ruler in this matter is wajib and whoever violates it is sinful for his actions exposes not only himself but also others to harm. It is also an act of obedience towards Allah SWT and His Messenger for we are commanded to obey a ruler in makruf matters. We have discussed this matter in our previous article in Irsyad al-Fatwa Series 457 [1].
Conclusion
According to the above arguments and discussion, we conclude that the Friday prayer performed is valid if it fulfils all of its valid conditions set but it is sinful for it violates the directive issued by the government.
As a responsible citizen, we should support and help ulil amri (the government/ruler) in makruf (good) matters. Especially in our current situation where the support and help from each citizen are crucial by obeying the directive issued in order to stop the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Thus, once again we would like to advise everyone, please obey the directive issued by the authorities. If we are unable to help our leaders and government in terms of wealth and energy, at least we should obey their directive so that we can stop the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. Hopefully, this will be among our good deeds in the hereafter.
May Allah SWT remove this pandemic that is affecting our country right now and protect us all.
Endnotes:
[1] See https://muftiwp.gov.my/en/artikel/irsyad-fatwa/irsyad-fatwa-umum-cat/4332-irsyad-al-fatwa-series-457-is-it-wajib-to-follow-the-directive-of-the-government-to-not-go-to-the-mosque