[Q 413] Praying in Hotels via Speaker in Makkah and Madinah

QUESTION:

What is the ruling on people praying in the hotel with the Jamaat on speaker in Makkah/Madinah, Is this permissible?

ANSWER:

This is impermissible and the prayer will not be valid. Anyone who has done so in the past, it is Fard to repent and repeat the Salahs read in such a way. This is because, according to Hanafi Fiqh, it is from the conditions of following an Imam (in prayer) that both Imam and Muqtadi (the follower) are in one place.
Note: Even if the prayer was read in the masjid it still would not be permissible because to read behind the Imams of Haramain is in itself Makruh Tahrimi, a sin and the Salah is Wajib to repeat. This is because the Imams of haramain are state sponsored and follower of the Salafi sect, and to make someone who is misguided as your imam Makruh Tarhimi.

It has been mentioned in al-Dur al-Mukhtar, from the condition of following imam:

“واتحاد مكانهما”
“And both of them being in the same place”

(Dur al-Mukhtar, kitab al-Salah, bab al-Imamah, Volume 2, page 280, Publisher: Dar alam al-Kutub)

The same has been mentioned in Bahar e Shariat: “The imam and the Muqtadi are in one place”

(Bahar e Shariat, Kitab al-Salah, Volume 1, part 3, Page 562, Publisher: Makatah tul Madinah)

It has been mentioned in al-Hidayah:

“وَالْفَاسِقِ) لِأَنَّهُ لَا يُتَّهَمُ لِأَمْرِ دِينِهِ)”
“To make a Fasiq (the imam is Makruh) because he does not have concern for matters of his Din”

(al-Hidaya, kitab al-Salah, Bab al-Imamah, Volume 1, Page 238, Publisher: Karachi)

Sayyidi Imam Ahl al-Sunnah states, when asked about a Mubtadi Imam, states:

“Now, the Karaha (dislike) is even more severe than before, as the difference between fisq (transgression) in actions and fisq in beliefs is like night and day. It has been stated in Kabeeri Sharh al-Muniyyah:
(Translated) ‘And it is Makruh to make a deviant an Imam, because he is a fasiq in belief. And it is more severe than fisq in action. As he (fasiq in action) acknowledges he is a fasiq and fears (over this) and repents to Allah, as opposed to the fasiq in belief.’

(Fatawa Ridawiya, Volume 6, page 448, Publisher: Raza Foundation Lahore)

In another place Sayyidi Imam Ahmed Rida mentions:

“And Karaha (dislike) when mentioned generally (without restriction), means Karaha Tahreemah (Makruh Tahrimi)”

(Fatawa Ridawiya, Volume 7, page 49, Publisher: Raza Foundation Lahore)

والله تعالى أعلم بالصواب

Answered by: Aqib Attari (AskMufti Scholar)
Date: 5th April 2025.