THE SUNNAH OF FAJR

Nabi Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam said, "When the iqaamah is called, then no other prayer should be performed besides the obligatory prayer." Muslim

In the mas'ala in question, Imam Abu Haneefa's madhab is this that if a person, for some reason, couldn't perform his sunnah of Fajr, and the Jamaat has already stood, then so long as he is certain that he will be able to join the jamaat by the last qa'dah, he should first complete sunnah.

Imam Malik, Imam Awzai, and Imam Sufyaan Ath-thawri also have a similar madhab. All four of these stalwarts were the greatest Imams of their time - the era of the tabi'een and tab'u -t-taabi'een, in the 2nd century hijri. They were all reputed and renowned giants of not only fiqh, but all other Islamic sciences, especially Hadith.

Today, about 1300 years after these mountains of knowledge put the final stamp on this mas'ala, we have people who know nothing about Hadith and Fiqh challenging this ruling with one hadith which they cannot understand without the help of translation, let alone understanding it's implication. Sad.

Imam Abu Haneefah, when making a decision on any mas'ala, didn't depend on just one hadith. Rather, he had infront of him every hadith that could possibly be connected to this mas'ala, and only after careful deliberation with his shura would he come to a judgement. It will be quite obvious from this, that his rulings are not without sound proof and backing.

Nabi sallallahu alaihi wa sallam has in many ahadith, all authentic, and too numerous to relate here, put extreme emphasis on the sunnah of Fajr, and their immense importance. Also in many ahadith is the fact that he never used to miss them, whether in Madina, or on journey.

One hadith specially worthy of note is a narration found in Abu Dawud, where he said, "Perform these two rakaahs of sunnah before Fajr, even though you may be stamped over by horses in the process."

Moreover, this very opinion and practise has been narrated from many great Sahaba, including Abdullah bin Mas'ud (Ra), Umar (RA), Abdullah bin Umar (ra), Abdullah bin Abbaas (ra), and Abu Darda (ra).

Infact, it has been narrated that during Hadhrat Umar (ra)'s khilaafat, it was quite common.

From all the multitudes of great Sahaba still present at that time, not one raised any objection, including Umar (ra) who, as we know, would get infuriated by the slightest breach of shari'ah.

My dear brothers and sisters, are we trying to say that we know about hadith more than the Sahaba? Are we trying challenge the sahaba's understanding of hadith, those great friends of Allah who understood the hadith from it's source, the practical example and perfect role model of the beautiful life of Rasulullah sallallahu alaihi wa sallam, with our own subzero understanding, not even worthy of being termed deficient, in which we are compeletely ignorant of the implications of this hadith???

According to Imam Abu Haneefa, this hadith has been interpreted to mean that to perform any other salaah at that same place where the fardh jamaat is being performed, is not permissible. That is why the mas'ala is that a person shouldn't perform it in the masjid proper, where the jamaat is, but rather in the outside part.

It is thus quite clear that any objections made at these great Imams regarding this mas'ala are utterly baseless and stem from compound ignorance and rebellion.

It is, however, important to note, that this mas'ala is only regarding permissibility. In no way is this action being encouraged. Sunnah should be performed on time before the time for the jamaat to stand. Only if, for some reason, a person wasn't able to perform them, then this mas'ala comes into play, that he should first complete his sunnah, because of its importance.

May Allah guide us to the truth, and give us the ability and tawfeeq to follow it, ameen