🔥 Examination: Ahmadi Religion of Peace and Light

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15.4. Congregational Prayer Does Not Justify Prostration to the Imām

In congregational prayer, Muslims follow the Imām’s movements. Abdullāh Hāshim Abā al-Ṣādiq misuses this to claim that believers are effectively “worshiping God through” the Imām. However, the Imām merely organizes the prayer; every worshiper, including the Imām, prostrates toward Allāh, facing the qiblah (Kaʿbah).

This famous statement of the Prophet (peace be upon him) underscores that our actions in ṣalāh are entirely dedicated to Allāh. While the congregation follows the Imām’s timing, their sujūd remains an act directed solely to Allāh.

One of the arguments used by Abdullāh Hāshim Abā al-Ṣādiq is that because Muslims stand behind an Imām (prayer leader) and follow his movements in congregational prayer (ṣalāh), they are effectively “prostrating to” or “worshiping through” the Imām. This claim overlooks the fundamental nature of congregational prayer in Islam, where both the Imām and the congregation prostrate to Allāh—facing the qiblah—not to any human being.

a) The Role of the Imām in ṣalāh

In Islam, the Imām serves as a coordinator of the congregational prayer. He:

1. Recites Qur’ānic verses aloud when required (such as in Fajr, Maghrib, and ʿIshāʿ).
2. Announces the transitions (e.g., from standing to bowing) often by pronouncing “Allāhu Akbar.”
3. Organizes the timing of each movement—rukūʿ (bowing), sujūd (prostration), and standing—so that the entire congregation remains unified in prayer.

Nowhere in the Qur’ān or the Ḥadīth is the Imām portrayed as an object of worship. He merely fulfills a practical function, guiding the worshipers to perform their prayer in a harmonious manner.

b) Everyone Faces Allāh, Not the Imām

The Prophet Muḥammad (peace be upon him) taught:

His instruction makes it clear that all worshipers—including the Imām—stand and prostrate toward the qiblah (the Kaʿbah in Makkah), which symbolizes unity under Allāh’s command. When the Imām goes into sujūd, he too is lowering his head to the ground before Allāh. The congregation follows after him, not to him.

Thus, the physical alignment of the Imām at the front does not imply that the believers are prostrating to him. They all share the same direction of prayer, united in worshiping Allāh alone.

c) Evidences from the Prophetic Sunnah

1. No Command to Face the Imām
   The Prophet (peace be upon him) never instructed Muslims to turn toward or bow to their Imām. Rather, he specified the qiblah as the direction for sujūd, ensuring it remains an act directed wholly to Allāh.
2. Function of Leadership
   The concept of the Imām in prayers is repeatedly referred to as an amīr (leader) or imām (guide), focusing on the organizational aspect rather than worship. The Messenger of Allāh (peace be upon him) established congregational prayer for the sake of order, community bonding, and shared devotion to God—not to elevate the prayer leader to any semblance of divinity or intercession.

d) Scholarly Consensus on Congregational Prayer

Across all recognized schools of Islamic jurisprudence (Mālikī, Ḥanafī, Shāfiʿī, Ḥanbalī, and mainstream Shīʿī), the Imām is understood to be:

1. A Facilitator: ensuring the correct performance and timing of each prayer movement.
2. A Representative: who recites aloud on behalf of the congregation, particularly for those who might not be able to recite fluently.
3. Never an Object of Sujūd: since sujūd is the exclusive right of Allāh.

Commentaries such as al-Nawawī’s al-Majmūʿ and Ibn Qudāmah’s al-Mughnī clarify that the Imām stands facing the qiblah for the identical purpose as his followers: to worship Allāh. No scholar of standing in Islam endorses prostration to the Imām or perceives congregational prayer as validation for human-directed sujūd.

e) Conclusion

The structure of congregational prayer in Islam underscores communal unity and synchronization in worship, not subordination of worshipers to a human leader. Both the Im?m and the congregation equally engage in suj?d to All?h, fulfilling the prophetic mandate:

Claiming that congregants �prostrate to� their Im?m misunderstands the prayer�s essence and defies the explicit injunction that suj?d is meant solely for All?h.