Full Lecture Transcript (Cleaned)
The Question — 0:00
In light of current circumstances, can we pray Tarawih in our houses while the imam is in the masjid or somewhere else and we have a live connection via the internet? If the Tarawih is being broadcast live, can we tune in and stand in our own houses and pray as a muqtadi — the one behind the imam — following an imam who is not physically in front of us?
The Traditional Position — 0:55
There is no question that mainstream traditional fiqh would never allow this, and the reasons are self-evident. By definition, the word jama'a means a congregation — it means physically coming together. That is why, by unanimous consensus of the four schools, people standing far apart cannot be considered one jama'a.
What constitutes "far apart"? What is the maximum distance between the muqtadi and the imam? The different madhabs have different parameters.
The Maliki madhab says there is no problem if there is a river or a road between the rows, as long as there is still some sense of connection. Imam al-Khassaf, in his famous early Hanafi text, says the Hanafi position is that if there is a gap of roughly two rows (approximately ten feet), the jama'a is broken. The Hanbali mashhur (well-known) position, as stated by Ibn Qudama, is that one should be within visual distance of the imam — or at least be able to see or hear one of the rows.
The point is that each of these madhabs, in its own way, is saying there must be a reasonable physical distance, and each has its own parameters for what exactly is reasonable.
The Introduction of Loudspeakers and Live TV — 2:53
When loudspeakers were introduced in the 1950s and 60s, some scholars became slightly more lenient — even if you cannot see the imam, if it is one connected group, you can still be part of the jama'a. But still, nobody said that simply because you can hear the imam from very far away, you can pray in jama'a. There has to be some sense of physical connectivity.
When live TV broadcasts were introduced — particularly of the Haramain prayers beginning in the mid-1980s — people in the same time zone, such as those in Jeddah, began asking the senior scholars whether they could tune in to the live Saudi television broadcast and pray along. The Hay'at Kibar al-Ulama (Council of Senior Scholars) ruled that it is not permissible, by unanimous consensus, because it would not constitute a jama'a. You are not physically in the vicinity of the Haram.
Can We Rethink This for COVID-19? — 4:49
Given the current circumstances, there is no question that fiqh allows for fine-tuning when conditions are met and the Sharia permits it. So the question becomes: can we, in light of these extenuating circumstances, rethink through this issue of jama'a? Can we, in the spirit of maintaining our Tarawih prayers — knowing that most people will not pray properly on their own, and that for the first time in Islamic history masajid across the globe have been shut down — temporarily allow for a virtual online jama'a?
A number of scholars have allowed this. Most famously, Shaykh Muhammad Hassan al-Dedew — one of the great ulama of our time — gave a very explicit fatwa that it is permissible, but only in light of current circumstances as a temporary exception to keep the spirit alive.
Why Yasir Qadhi Sides with the Majority — 6:36
However, as far as Yasir Qadhi is aware, no fiqh council in any part of the world has allowed online jama'a — not the European Fatwa Council, not the American Muslim Jurists Association (AMJA), not the Fiqh Council of North America (on which he sits), and not any of the senior mashayikh councils around the globe. They have all said that while we do rethink through fiqh at times, having a jama'a for Tarawih is not a necessity. If you pray at home by yourself, there is no great loss. Why rethink the concept of jama'a when the matter at hand is not a necessity?
Yasir Qadhi explains that he has never in his life given any position that is uniquely his own in fiqh matters. He always follows those whom he looks up to, and especially for modern issues, he prioritizes fiqh councils — the European Fatwa Council, AMJA, and the Fiqh Council of North America. Since none of these councils have permitted online jama'a, even though he personally knows and admires some individual scholars who have allowed it, he cannot find himself siding with them.
He is sympathetic to their perspective and understands where they are coming from, but he is cautious and wants to stick with the majority and those more senior in quantity. If fiqh councils were to change their position in the future, he might reconsider.
A Classical Concession: Surat al-Iqtida al-Suri — 10:40
As a footnote, Yasir Qadhi mentions one scenario that he does not encourage but which would be permissible according to the majority of ulama without requiring radical ijtihad. This is what classical books call surat al-iqtida al-suri — the outward appearance of following the imam, where there is an illusion of following but you are actually praying independently.
Classical books discuss this in scenarios such as when you believe your prayer behind a particular imam may not be valid, yet you need to pray in the same space. Outwardly, your ruku and sujud are somewhat in sync with the congregation, but in reality your niyyah (intention) is that you are praying your own independent salah.
If someone truly cannot recite the Quran well and will not pray Tarawih at all otherwise, and they really want to follow somebody who is broadcasting live (it must be a live broadcast in the same time zone), one option is this: they pray their own Tarawih with their own arkan. They recite their own Fatiha, and they have the live recitation playing at the same time. After they finish Fatiha, they listen to the imam's recitation — since reciting after Fatiha is not a rukn (pillar) in nafl salah according to any madhab. When the imam goes into ruku, they happen to go into their own ruku. When the imam goes into qiyam, they happen to go into qiyam.
But their niyyah is independent — they are not behind the imam. The imam is praying his salah and they are praying theirs. It just so happens that they are listening to the Quran being recited and their movements are roughly synchronized.
This would only be useful for specific groups of people — someone who does not know much Quran and does not want to recite the same short surahs for twenty-two rak'at, or someone who will not be motivated to pray unless they hear their regular imam. Otherwise, this is not something that should be encouraged. And Allah knows best.