Sajid Umar

The Islamic Ruling on Following the Imām’s Prayer Virtually Through a “Live Broadcast” in Light of the Covid-19 Crisis

A paper presented by:

Ahmed Khāter	MA in Islamic Law and Legal Theory and PhD Candidate in Islamic Law and Legal Theory, Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley
Ahmad ibn Samih Abdel-Wahāb	PhD in Fiqh, Islamic University of Madinah
Sājid Umar	PhD in Comparative Fiqh, Imam Muhammad ibn Saud University
Tāhir Wyatt	PhD in Islamic Creed, Islamic University of Madinah
Joe Bradford	MA in Fiqh, Islamic University of Madinah

Executive Summary

This paper explores the issue of following an Imām in prayer through live
broadcast, whether over radio or internet, and whether this issue is
acceptable according to the principles of Islamic law encapsulated in the four
canonical schools of jurisprudence. Does the distance and separation inherent
to following a prayer over live broadcast affect the validity of that prayer?
While the issue of live broadcast was not addressed in earlier works, scholars
of the four canonical schools of Islamic law have agreed that a person
following the Imām from far distances (miles away without continuous rows)
with the presence of obstacles between them is invalid. This ruling by classical scholars
was extended to broadcasts over radio, and then the internet; a list of the
respective scholars and Fiqh councils upholding this ruling is provided. The
evidences that substantiate this position are laid out, from both revelation
and rationale, showing that allowing “virtual prayers” and the like violate the
form of the congregational prayer, the dispensations for abandoning it, and
the spiritual and communal objectives of each. A survey of the classical texts
reiterating these conclusions is then provided, from the Hanafi, Māliki, Shāfi’ ī ,
and Hanbali schools. Lastly, common misconceptions are addressed and
advice to Masjid Administrations and the Muslims in general is offered
regarding this issue.