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[A mistake by the Friday preacher]

Mufti:
Alsayyed Muhammad b. Abdallah Awad Al-Muayyady
تاريخ النشر:
Fatwa number: 16589
Number of views: 7
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[A mistake by the Friday preacher]
Fatwa number: 16589
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Question

Question: If the Friday preacher errs in his sermon—such as mentioning a report about people “coming out of the Fire”—and he does not yet know that this is false, because he was raised outside Yemen, then he returns to Yemen and adopts the school of Ahl al-Bayt (peace be upon them), believing they are upon the truth, that “there is nothing like unto Him,” and that Allah is innocent of His servants’ sins—in short, he follows Ahl al-Bayt (peace be upon them) and grounds his religion in them—does such a mistake invalidate the Friday prayer? Is it permissible to leave the Jumuʿah and walk out of the mosque because of it? What is required?

Answer

Answer, and Allah grants success: When such a thing occurs, the preacher must be alerted to his mistake—if possible during the sermon without causing commotion and shouting, or between the two sermons. If the listener cannot do that, then immediately after the prayer and before the worshippers disperse, so they do not leave with a mistaken belief.
Yes, a mistake like this does not invalidate the sermon or the prayer, due to the Almighty’s words: “There is no blame upon you for what you err in, but only for what your hearts intend” [al-Aḥzāb:5], and: “Allah would not misguide a people after He has guided them until He makes clear to them what they should avoid” [al-Tawbah:115]. This preacher has not yet become clear that what he said is among the things to be avoided; he therefore cannot be judged astray.
Walking out of the mosque and abandoning the Friday prayer for this reason is not appropriate—except where one is unable to correct the wrong.
Here, the preacher’s error is of the sort that, were he to know it, he would not have said it; correcting such an error is feasible and the return to what is right is near at hand.
Indeed, I was asked this very question by a group of those worshippers on that Friday itself, in the presence of many in that mosque and of their preacher; many benefits in the fundamentals of religion—and clarification of their proofs—followed from ʿAṣr until just before sunset. Many a harm turns out beneficial.
Source : Min Thimār al-ʿIlm wa al-Ḥikmah vol.1

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