In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful, and may blessings and peace be upon the noblest of the prophets and messengers, our Prophet Muhammad, and upon all his family and companions.
This is a summary of what was presented in this part of the explanation of Imam al-Shafi’i’s al-Risala, focusing on the important points and clarifications.
Continuing the chapter on the summaries of obligations (jumal al-fara’id):
- Completion of the hadith of Abu Sa’id al-Khudri on the prayer at the Trench:
- Imam al-Shafi’i stresses that the Prophet’s ﷺ combining of the prayers on the day of the Trench (Zuhr, ‘Asr, Maghrib, and ‘Isha’) took place before the revelation of the verse on the fear prayer.
- The verse in which the fear prayer is mentioned is the saying of Allah the Exalted: “And when you travel throughout the land, there is no blame upon you for shortening the prayer, [especially] if you fear that those who disbelieve may disrupt [or attack] you… And when you [i.e., the commander of an army] are among them and lead them in prayer, let a group of them stand [in prayer] with you and let them carry their arms…” (An-Nisa 4:101-102).
- The form of the fear prayer in the expedition of Dhat al-Riqa’:
- Evidence is drawn from the hadith of Malik, from Yazid ibn Ruman, from Salih ibn Khawwat, from one who prayed the fear prayer with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ on the day of Dhat al-Riqa’.
- Explanation of how the fear prayer is performed: the army divides into two groups; one group prays one unit with the imam and then completes the prayer on its own, while the other group stands guard; then the two groups exchange places.
- It is stressed that the fear prayer is a practical procedure that requires visualization and training.
- Discussion and clarification of issues in the fear prayer:
- The possibility of having someone beside the imam to inform him that the first group has finished and the second group has begun, especially when there are many rows or the imam’s voice cannot be heard.
- The permissibility of turning one’s head during prayer in case of necessity, such as fear of the enemy or warding off a harmful animal, with evidence drawn from the hadith of the battle of Hunayn; and the prohibition of turning without necessity.
- A rebuttal of those who said the fear prayer is no longer prescribed after the Prophet ﷺ, with emphasis that it is prescribed in every time and place whenever its cause (fear) is present.
- Discussion of how the fear prayer can be applied in modern armies with large numbers and wide deployment, with the suggestion that it be applied at the level of the company, the platoon, or the battalion.
- Discussion of impurity that may reach the person praying in a state of fear, explaining that legal responsibility is tied to ability, and that whoever cannot remove the impurity prays with it and his prayer is valid (the prayer of those with excuses).
- Discussion of facing the qiblah in the fear prayer, explaining that it is permissible to have one’s back to it in case of necessity.
- Discussion of the Maghrib prayer in a state of fear, explaining that the fear prayer supersedes the other forms of the obligatory prayers in that situation.
- Discussion of the possibility of part of the army praying while mounted (“on foot or riding”).
- Discussion of the fear prayer when there are only two people in a state of fear, explaining that in this case each of them prays individually.
- Completion of the hadith of the fear prayer:
- Another narration of the hadith is mentioned, from ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Umar ibn Hafs, from his brother ‘Ubaydullah, from al-Qasim ibn Muhammad, from Salih ibn Khawwat, from his father Khawwat ibn Jubayr.
- A scholarly point concerning Imam al-Shafi’i’s narrations:
- It is clarified that Imam al-Shafi’i may leave some narrators unnamed in some of his books and then name them explicitly in other books (such as al-Risala, al-Umm, al-Musnad, and Kitab al-‘Ilm).
- The importance of comparing and studying chains of transmission in authenticating texts is stressed.
- An example is mentioned of an error made by the editors of Ibn Hazm’s book al-Usul wa al-Furu’ because they did not study the chains of transmission.
- Encouragement to seek what is new in knowledge rather than being content with re-explaining what has already been explained.
- The issue of the Sunnah being abrogated by the Qur’an:
- It is pointed out that there are two views among the legal theorists on whether the Sunnah can be abrogated by the Qur’an.
Some important benefits:
- Delaying the prayer because of an excuse.
- The form of the fear prayer and how it is applied.
- The permissibility of turning in prayer in case of necessity.
- The fear prayer is prescribed in every time and place whenever its cause is present.
- How the fear prayer can be applied in modern armies.
- The ruling on praying with impurity because of an excuse.
- The ruling on having one’s back to the qiblah in the fear prayer out of necessity.
- The ruling on the Maghrib prayer in a state of fear.
- The possibility of part of the army praying while mounted.
- The ruling on the fear prayer when there are only two people.
- The importance of studying chains of transmission in authenticating texts.
- The issue of the Sunnah being abrogated by the Qur’an.
We ask Allah the Exalted for acceptance and ease.
All parts of Summary of the Explanation of al-Risala by Shaykh Dr. Ahmad al-Naqeeb