Ask Shaykh YQ – Episode 59

In light of the current circumstances can we pray Torah we're in our houses while the Imam is in the masjid or somewhere else. And we have a live connection or a live feed via the internet. If the Torah which is being broadcast live, can we tune in? And can we stand in our own houses and pray as macdaddy macdaddy means the one behind the Imam and take an Imam that is not physically in front of us

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There is no question that mainstream traditional film would never allow this. And the reasons for this are self evident and obvious by definition, what does the word Gemma mean? The word Gemma means a congregation. The word German means physically coming together. And that is why by unanimous consensus, you know, P of the four schools I should say, the people that are standing far apart cannot be considered to be one, Gemma. Now, what constitutes far apart what constitutes the maximum distance between the doctor D The macdaddy is the one who's behind the Imam and the Imam. What is the maximum distance? Well, the different methods have different, you know, connotations in this

regard. The Maliki method says that, you know, there's no problem if there's a river or a road between the Sioux Falls and there's a large break or something and there's some still sense of connection, even if there's a river or a road between them. No problem emammal Carson in his famous book about Dyer Asana, which is 100 free book or one of the earliest hanafy books, he says that the hanafy position is that if there's a gap of two rows than the GMR is broken, so any roughly 10 feet or so I mean, I don't quote me on the 10 feet, but basically two rows are more than 10 feet. So if there's that much of a distance, it is broken, the hummingbird is in their mature position, they

said that one should be within visual distance of the Imam and even Kodama says that even if you're not visual, but at least you can hear or see one of the rows. So even if it's a huge Gemma, and you cannot see the Imam, but wherever you are, you can see a row and that row is visible, you can hear them, then you can be connected. So the point is, each of these janumet hubs is kinda sorta in its own way. They're saying there's got to be a reasonable distance. And each one of them has a different opinion about what exactly is reasonable now, when loudspeakers were introduced, and this is back in the 50s and 60s, so some of our scholars then did become a little bit more, you know,

lacks that okay, even if you cannot see the Imam, but still it is one connected group. And again, there was some, you know, controversy over what what constitutes connected and what is reasonable. But still, nobody said that just because you can hear the Imam very, very far away, you can still pray with thee. With Gemma, there has to be some sense of connectivity. When live TV broadcast was introduced and this is in the domain. They began broadcasting literally prayers live in the 1980s. This was when they began broadcasting for the very first time in the in the mid 1980s. They started the Saudi Arabian television they started broadcasting. I'm not saying other countries, MCC and

Medina, I don't know other countries. maccha Medina was in the mid to early 80s they began broadcasting the live transmission and so the people began asking that if we're in the same timezone and we are in the mecca times of people in Jeddah are two minutes apart is in the same time zone like the one that robbery starts, they can pray the people of Makkah that are not coming to the harem. So they began asking the senior scholars and so the Council of senior scholars the hates give out odema was asked a question that can we tune in to the live television broadcast on Saudi national television, if we're in the same timezone? Obviously, nobody's saying if you're in

Timbuktu, then you can do that. No, we mean something within the same time zone for MCC that can we pray and the Council of senior scholars, they said that it is not permissible by unanimous consensus because it would not constitute a GMR. You're not physically in the vicinity of the of the house. And that's something that they said is not allowed, and that's definitely standard traditional interpretation. Now,

having said that, given the current circumstances that we are facing, there is no question that filk does allow and this is something everybody knows fine tuning. If

The conditions are met, and if the shed era allows for it. So the question is, can we, in light of current circumstances rethink through this issue of jemar? Can we, in the spirit of having tarawih prayers in the spirit of most people are not going to be praying the proper prayers anyway. And because we're not having for the first time in Islamic history, you know, massages across the globe are shut down, we're not going to be having congregations. So in light of these extenuating circumstances can we rethink through this issue, and temporarily, not permanently, just in light of this year, maybe even just allow for a Gemini that is online or virtual. And I have been following

many people across the globe, many scholars, I look up to many fifth councils, and hearing from them what they are saying, and a number of scholars have allowed this most famously, yesterday, Sheikh Mohammed hasn't what to do, one of the great AI Lamas in every sense of the term alive, shall do he did give a very explicit fatwa, in which he said that it is permissible. And he said that it is permissible only in light of current circumstances only as an exception, to keep the spirit alive. And he says this is a nazima issue, or it's an issue that basically we're giving in light of today's extenuating circumstance. And there are some other small voices as well. However, and I'm just

saying this for information, however, that having been said, Please be aware that, as far as I know, to up until today that I'm giving you this lecture, as far as I know, no Council, in any part of the world, as far as I know, has allowed online Gemma, not the European Council, not the American Muslim jurists Association, not the fifth Council in North America that I sit upon, not any of the fifth councils that are the measurement of 50 and others that are senior councils around the globe. None of them have allowed this and they have all said that. Yes, true. At times we rethink through fear and we can fine tune but their perspective is having a Gemma is not a necessity. So why rethink

through the concept of a Gemma when it is not a necessity we rethink through when a necessity is being infringed when something that is how or how that when a very big thing. As for Torah, we, if you pray at home, what's the big deal? If you pray by yourself? What's the big deal? Why do we have to rethink that's their philosophy. And because of this, and personally, I have said this many, many times that I don't feel comfortable personally, to give any position or fatwah that is unique I'd never have in my life done given any position that is uniquely my own. And physically issues in some areas of Islam is different. But definitely in fifth, I do not consider myself to be able to be law,

which they had good luck, I always follow those whom I look up to. And especially for our times, I've said this multiple times, I personally prioritize the council's for modern issues. And I have four or five field councils that I look up to and I myself am a member of one of them to fit Council in North America. The reason why I prefer councils is because you have multiple minds coming together. It's not just one and you have the mathematic filter, you have the measurement of Robert, a lot of you have multiple that are global. And then you have regional you have the European Council that I personally look up to immensely. And it has a number of people that are good friends and

colleagues of mine and they're on that council here in America, the American Muslim jurists Association. I know almost everybody Personally, I attend many times as well. And the fifth Council, of course, I'm on it. And these are the counselors that are European and Western. These three in particular, I'm not saying they're not others, there are others as well. But to me personally, these are the ones that I'm, in particular very well connected with. And I do look up to for Western fatawa. And none of these councils have as of yet allowed this. And therefore, even if a few handful of scholars whom I personally know and admire, have allowed it, I cannot find myself siding with

them personally. If somebody wishes to follow that their business, I cannot encourage it. And I find myself hesitant to open this door. And I'm going to stick with what the majority have said in this regard. And that means that Gema eyes cannot take place when you are miles and miles away from the Imam. There has to be physical proximity. And this is the position that I personally hold up until now. Now, if this were to change, and some councils were to change the position, perhaps I might change as well. Because I understand where shareholder data and orders are coming from. And I see the perspective and at one level I am sympathetic at this

Same time, I am cautious and I want to stick with those that are more senior to me and also more in quantity. Not saying that she is definitely senior to many of us. And He alone is like an oma. But that's a different story altogether. So

still, I would say let's stick with the majority and not open this door. And to the best of my knowledge here in Dallas as well. And I'm on a group as well as local Imams and scholars. I don't think any of us as of yet we have not opened this door and we will not be opening this door to the best of my knowledge. Now, having said all of that, before I move to my final question, there's going to be three questions today. Having said all of that,

there is one thing I'd like to put in the footnote. It is a scenario that I do not encourage at all. At the same time,

it would be permissible according to the majority of odema, it doesn't require radical, HD hard, it doesn't require rethinking through the formula. And I would not encourage this but it is a concession that might be

something that certain groups of people can avail themselves to. And that concession is that what is called in the classical books of data, or sorry, or the outer illusion of following the Imam where there is an illusion of following the Imam but it is an illusion, you are not following the Imam. And when do our classical books discuss this? Well, they discuss it in a number of scenarios have them in the well let's just say one example that the Imam is somebody that you think you should not be praying behind maybe is a very weird belief or whatnot, and yet you're in a public or he's the leader, or he's the the the Muslim Holly for something or whatever it might be. And you think that

what for whatever reason, they give some examples that your saliva behind it is not valid. So this is called addicted, addicted or sorry, where outwardly, your Roku and sujood will be somewhat in sync with the rest of the people. But in reality, you are making a near that you're paying your own solar. And if somebody were to look at you, he would assume that you are praying Gemma, but in reality you are praying your own solar now.

And again, I'm just putting this as a footnote. So please, my position is don't open this door. However, if somebody really cannot recite the Quran, cannot and will not be praying or are we at all they're not going to find any who sure they really want to follow somebody who is broadcasting live, it has to be a live broadcast in that same time zone. One way out could be that they do this without sudo which means they pray their own tarawih with their own outer can. And they are doing their own factor and everything they are doing as if they're independent, and they have the live recitation playing as well at the same time, such that when they recite Fatiha, the members reciting Fatiha,

then they can be quiet and listen to the recitation of the Imam because you know it is not a rochlin in the nefesh Salah according to any of the methods to have another prayer after the fact under the suit after the fact that if you just recite Fatiha as if you wanted to start in North Dakota, for example, in your car, then you listen to the Imam. So and then when the man goes into record, you are not following you're not a macdaddy you just happen to go into your own record. Then when the man goes into Korea, you just happen to go into Korea and you roughly synchronize but you are praying your own solar independent of your Nia is independence not behind the Imam and you're

praying You're too and the mom is praying his too but it just so happens that when he's reciting the Quran, you're listening to the Koran and you are getting you know, the the Tierra, we're done if this is done in some situations and scenarios, and it's nothing wrong with this because you have done the Salah, but there is no actual equity that you are not actually following the Imam. And again, I would only think that this would be useful if certain groups of people like somebody does not know anything from the Quran and they just don't want to recite through the class all the 20 gather a trigger or somebody is not going to be motivated unless he's praying behind his regular

Imam and it's so happens that his mom is is reciting Yanni the Torah we live or whatnot. Otherwise, this is not something that definitely should be encouraged if we're not going to go down the route of virtual silos and that's not as I said, we're not going down that road and a lot of xojo knows best

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