PRAYER BEHIND THE IMAM OF DIFFERENT MAZHAB

A COMPARISON STUDY OF OPINION OF AL-QAFFĀL AND IBN ḤAJAR AL-HAITAMĪ

Abstract

Imam al-Qaffāl (d. 417 H), who lived in the 5th century Hijriyyah, stated that prayers behind imams of different madhabs are valid because the benchmark is the legal requirements for prayers according to the imam. Whereas Ibn Ḥajar al-Haytamī (d. 974 H), who lived in the 10th century Hijriyyah, stated that it was invalid if the imam did something that caused the prayer invalid according to the makmum. The author examines these two opinions with a comparative approach from the perspective of fiqh al-ikhtilāf. The concept is the difference as diversity or difference as opposition. It has revealed that these two opinions must be moderate. On the one side, the makmum must be careful of imams who are much more proud of their personal or group opinions. On the other side, they must be kind to the imam. It has to consider that the differences cannot to eliminated, so the authors conclude that the best solution is to moderate between the imam's perspective and the makmum's. Thus, differences of opinion become a blessing for the people.