Collective forms of ibaadah taking precedence over individual forms of ibaadah in a Musjid

Q: Our Imaam mentioned a few points, which I wanted to clarify. The gist of the points is that in the Masjid, collective forms of Ibaadah always take precedence over individual.

1. If 5 minutes are allotted to read sunnah salaah before the khutbah, one should complete salaah in that time, to avoid inconvenience to the imaam, who has to wait for people who go over this time.

My question is, what if someone takes six or seven minutes. Is this incorrect or should the imaam wait patiently for such a person?

2. If after salaah, a jamaat is having a lecture, or there is some type of programme, the muqtadis should try and complete their salaah quickly or move to the back, so that the programme can commence as soon as possible.

Are these points correct?

A:

1. The person should try and complete his sunnah salaah in the allocated time. In this, he will be considerate to all the musallis. He should not expect all the musallis to wait for him. For such a person who takes long to perform his sunnats and he feels that the time is not sufficient, then it is better for him to come early for the jumuah and perform his sunnah immediately after zawaal.

2. Taleem is part of the functions of the musjid. Hence, they should be considerate and move to the back of the musjid and complete their sunnats if they feel that they will lengthen their salaah.

And Allah Ta'ala (الله تعالى) knows best.

 

Answered by:

Mufti Zakaria Makada

Checked & Approved:

Mufti Ebrahim Salejee (Isipingo Beach)