The Group Prayer

The group prayer is from the emphasized desirable deeds during the duties especially the daily ones. Its being desirable is more emphasized in the prayers during which one may raise his voice like the morning and the evening prayers, and it is highly rewarded.

The Conditions of the Leader of the Group Prayer

First: Puberty
It is incorrect to perform a group prayer behind the child who has not reached puberty yet, even if he is a distinguishing child.¹

Second: Reason
The leadership of the group prayer is incorrect to be by the absolutely insane person. As regards the periodically insane person, his leadership is correct when he is sane, taking into consideration the availability of all the required conditions for the leadership.²

Third: Belief
This condition means that the leader of the group prayer must be a Shiite who believes in all the Imams of the Impeccable Household (God’s prayers and peace bestowed upon them).³

In the group prayer, it is permissible to perform the prayer behind the Sunnite in case it is for the sake of preserving the Islamic unity. Still, it is impermissible to put one’s hand over the other on the belly during the prayer unless there is any necessity demanding so.⁴

Fourth: The Purity of Birth
The leadership of the illegitimate person is impermissible.

Fifth: Justice
Justice represents the psychological state spurring on committing to piety which prevents one from committing forbiddances. It is enough, as regards figuring whether the leader of the group prayer is just or not, to recognize the outer conduct which manifests justice.⁵

In case the leader of the group prayer says any [moody or angry] words that do not oppose the religion or the honor, this does not vilify his justice.⁶

Sixth: Masculinity
It is incorrect that the woman leads the man in the group prayer, but it is fine that she leads other women.⁷

Note: The correctness of the group prayer is not conditional upon the leader’s intention. Still, in case the leader of the group prayer wants to attain the merit and the reward of the group prayer, it is desirable that he intends to lead the group prayer.⁸

Seventh: The Soundness of His Seven Organs of Prostration
It is incorrect that the one lacking one of his seven organs of prostration leads the one who has them all.⁹

Eighth: The Correctness of His Speech
It is incorrect to perform the group prayer behind someone who does not utter the letters in the manner the linguistics consider him to have uttered them correctly.¹⁰

The Conditions of the Led Person in the Group Prayer

- The led person must intend to perform the group prayer, so that his prayer will be correct. In case he does not intend to perform the group prayer, his group prayer is no more correct, with his prayer turning to be a singular prayer not a group one.¹¹

- The led person must specify the leader of the group prayer in which he is participating i.e. he must specify that he is performing the prayer behind this person whom he is familiar with or behind that person whom he knows to be just even if he does not know his name.¹²

- The specified leader of the group prayer must be one i.e. the performer of the prayer must intend to perform the prayer behind one leader; otherwise, his prayer and his group prayer will not be correct in case he intends to perform the prayer behind two leaders for instance.¹³

The Conditions of the Group Prayer

First
The led person must not be in front of the leader. The leader must, during the group prayer, be in front of the led person as regards the position of the foot. In case the led person is in front of the leader in terms of something else rather than the position of the foot, i.e. the position of the prostration for instance, this does not affect the correctness of the group prayer.¹⁴

Second
The position of the leader must not be more than one customary step away from the spot of the prostration of the led person. Likewise must be among the led people themselves in length and width.¹⁵

Third
The leader must not be higher than the led people are; moreover, he must be equal to them or lower than they are. But there is no problem with the led people’s, whether men or women, being higher than the leader is, under the condition that the height is not excessive or uncustomary.¹⁶

Fourth
There must not be any screen between the leader and the led persons or among the led persons themselves in case they are men. There is no problem with the screen between men and women in the group prayer; still, it is impermissible among the women the selves.¹⁷

The Judgments of the Group Prayer

1- The number of those participating in the group prayer must not be less than two i.e. the leader and one led person.¹⁸

2- The led person must follow the leader in all the deeds; the former is not permitted to forego the latter in any deed.¹⁹

- In case the led person says, “God is Great” before the leader, then he has the alternative either to continue his prayer as a singular one and complete it or to change the intention into that of a supererogatory prayer made up of two bows, complete it, and then rejoin the group prayer.²⁰

- Foregoing the leader may take place in terms of the parts or in terms of the basic elements except for saying, “God is Great” in starting the prayer. In case the led person unintentionally foregoes the leader in the parts, then nothing is imposed on him, his prayer is considered to be correct, and he must follow up with the leader.²¹

In case the led person unintentionally foregoes the leader in the basic elements, such as raising his head from bowing while the leader is still bowing, he has to go back to bowing. Here, the additional part is fine. But in case the leader has raised his head from bowing, then the led person must complete his prayer as a group one with nothing imposed upon him. Likewise is the case in prostration: in case the led person bows and prostrates before the leader, he has to go back to standing up or to sitting down and then he must bow and prostrate with the leader, with his group prayer being correct in this manner.²²

- In the group prayer, the leader settles the led person only for the recitation in the first two bows. As regards all the other statements and extolment in the prayer, they remain to be dutiful on the led person.²³

- It is not conditional that the kind of the prayer of the leader and the led person in the group prayer be one as regards the performance in the stated time and the clearance, the completeness and shortness of the prayer, or the noon and afternoon prayer. The one performing a shortened prayer is permitted to perform the prayer behind the one performing a complete prayer. Also, the one clearing a certain prayer may perform the prayer behind the one performing it in its stated time. Moreover, the one performing the noon prayer may perform the prayer behind the one performing the afternoon prayer. Still, the one performing a daily prayer is not permitted to perform the prayer behind the one performing the verse prayer or the feast prayer.²⁴

1- Tahreer Al-Waseela [Editing the Means] / Part One/ Page 274
2- Tahreer Al-Waseela/ Part One/ Page 274
3- Tahreer Al-Waseela/ Part One/ Page 274
4- Ajweebat Al-Istifta’at [The Answers to the Consultations] / Part One/ Page 171/ Question 600
5- Ajweebat Al-Istifta’at [The Answers to the Consultations] / Part One/ Page 160/ Question 561
6- Ajweebat Al-Istifta’at/ Part One/ Page 160/ Question 557
7- Ajweebat Al-Istifta’at/ Part One/ Page 169/ Question 595
8- Tahreer Al-Waseela [Editing the Means] / Part One/ Page 265/ Question 3
9- Ajweebat Al-Istifta’at/ Part One/ Page 168/ Question 591
10- Ajweebat Al-Istifta’at/ Part One/ Page 166/ Question 587
11- Tahreer Al-Waseela/ Part One/ Page 265/ Question 3
12- Tahreer Al-Waseela [Editing the Means] / Part One/ Page 265/Question 3
13- Tahreer Al-Waseela/ Part One/ Page 265/ Question 3
14- Tahreer Al-Waseela/ Part One/ Page 269
15- Tahreer Al-Waseela/ Part One/ Page 269
16- Tahreer Al-Waseela/ Part One/ Page 268
17- Tahreer Al-Waseela/ Part One/ Page 268
18- Tahreer Al-Waseela/ Part One/ Page 265/ Question 2
19- Tahreer Al-Waseela [Editing the Means]/ Part One/ Page 272/ Question 9
20- Tahreer Al-Waseela/ Part One/ Page 272/ Question 10
21- Tahreer Al-Waseela / Part One/ Page 272/ Question 11
22- Tahreer Al-Waseela / Part One/ Page 272/ Question 11
23- Tahreer Al-Waseela / Part One/ Page 271/ Question 5
24- Tahreer Al-Waseela [Editing the Means] / Part One/ Page 265/ Question 1