Ruling on offering du‘aa’ in congregation

Offering du‘aa’ with the congregation (in the sense that one of them offers
du‘aa’ and the rest say Ameen) is either proven in the Sunnah, as in the
case of istisqa’ (prayer for rain) and du‘aa’ al-qunoot, which is
undoubtedly prescribed, 

Or it
is done in situations for which there is no proof in the Sunnah, such as
following the five daily prayers, immediately after burying the deceased, in
‘Arafah, and so on. In this case, there is nothing wrong with it if it is
done occasionally, but if it becomes a custom that is done regularly, then
it is a bid‘ah (innovation). 

There
follows a brief look at the comments of the scholars concerning that. 

-1-

Imam
Ahmad (may Allah have mercy on him) was asked: Is it makrooh for people to
gather together, calling upon Allah and raising their hands? He said: I do
not regard it as makrooh for the brothers so long as they did not meet
deliberately for that purpose, provided they do not do it on a regular
basis. End quote. 

Ibn
Mansoor said: Ishaaq ibn Raahawayh said something similar. What is meant by
“provided they do not do it on a regular basis” is unless they make that a
regular practice until they do it a great deal. 

Abu’l-‘Abbaas al-Fadl ibn Mahraan said: I asked Yahya ibn Ma‘een and Ahmad
ibn Hanbal: Among us there are some people who gather to offer du‘aa’, read
Qur’an and remember Allah, may He be exalted. What you think of them? 

As for
Yahya ibn Ma‘een, he said: (Each individual) should read from the Mushaf,
offer du‘aa’ after the prayer and remember Allah by himself. I said: A
brother of mine joined that group. He said: Tell him to stop. I said: He
will not accept that. He said: Exhort him. I said: He will not accept that;
should I shun him? He said: Yes. 

Then I
went to Ahmad and told him something similar, and Ahmad also said to me:
(Each individual) should read from the Mushaf and remember Allah, may He be
exalted, by himself, and study the hadeeth of the Messenger of Allah
(blessings and peace of Allah be upon him). I said: Should I tell him to
stop? He said: Yes. I said: What if he does not accept that? He said: He
will, in sha Allah [i.e., he will respond, in sha Allah], because this is
something that has been introduced into the religion, this gathering and
what you describe. I said: If he does not respond, should I shun him? He
smiled and said nothing. 

End
quote from al-Adaab ash-Shar‘iyyah, 2/102 

-2-

Shaykh
al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allah have mercy on him) said: Meeting together
to read Qur’an, remember Allah and call upon Him (du‘aa’) is good and
mustahabb, so long as it is not taken as a regular practice like those
gatherings that are prescribed in Islam, and so long as it is not
accompanied by any reprehensible innovation. 

End
quote from Majmoo‘ al-Fataawa, 22/523 

-3-

The
Standing Committee for Issuing Fatwas was asked about an imam who raises his
hands after the prescribed prayers, and the members of the congregation do 
likewise, and the imam offers du‘aa’ and the members of the congregation say
Ameen to his du‘aa’. 

They
replied: 

Acts
of worship are based on tawqeef (i.e.,

it is not permissible to worship Allah, may He be exalted, through any act
of worship unless this act of worship is proven in the shar‘i texts (Qur’aan
and Sunnah) to be an act of worship that was prescribed by Allah),
so it is not permissible to say that these acts of worship are prescribed in
terms of their principle, number, form or place, except on the basis of
shar‘i evidence to that effect. We do not know of any basis for that in the
Sunnah of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) or in his
words, deeds or what he approved of. 

End
quote from Majallat al-Buhooth al-Islamiyyah, 17/55 

The
Standing Committee for Issuing Fatwas was also asked about a person whose

habit is to give food to a group of people every Friday, and when the food
is finished, they do not leave their places or their seats; rather they wait
for one of them, who is appointed by the one who has given the food, to pray
to Allah to cause the reward for that food to reach their deceased family
members and relatives. During that supplication, the one who is asking of
Allah raises his hands, as do the other people present, and they say Ameen.
Is this supplication during which the group raises their hands after eating
permissible or not? 

They replied: Communal supplication in the manner mentioned after eating is
something for which there is no basis in Islam. Therefore what they must do
is stop doing that, because it is an innovation; they should be content with
that which is mentioned in the Sunnah of offering supplication and asking
for blessing (barakah) for the one who gave the food, and the like. Each
person should offer supplication of his own. It is narrated in the Sunnah
that one may say “Allahummah baarik lahum fima razaqtahum waghfir lahum
warhamhum (O Allah, bless the provision that You have granted to them,
forgive them and have mercy on them), and “Aftara ‘indakum as-saa’imoona
wa akala ta‘aamakum al-abraaru wa sallat ‘alaykum al-malaa’ikah (May
fasting people break their fast at your table, may the righteous eat your
food, and may the angels send blessings upon you).” 

End
quote
from Fataawa al-Lajnah ad-Daa’imah, 24/189-190 

-4-

Shaykh
Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy on him) was asked: Some people gather
to recite dhikr, then at the end they offer a communal du‘aa’ in which one
person offers du‘aa’ and the best say Ameen. Is this acceptable? 

He
replied: This is acceptable if it is not taken as a regular practice. But if
it is taken as a regular practice, it may be regarded as Sunnah when it is
not Sunnah. If this is a regular practice that every time they sit together,
they end with du‘aa’, then it is an innovation (bid‘ah) that is not known
from the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him). 

But if
it is done occasionally, such as if they come to a text that contains a
warning or encouragement, then they call upon Allah, may He be glorified and
exalted, in du‘aa’, then there is nothing wrong with it, because there is a
difference between that which is done regularly and that which is done
occasionally. If a person does something occasionally, he is not to be
blamed for it. Occasionally some of the Sahaabah prayed with the Messenger
(blessings and peace of Allah be upon) when he prayed at night (qiyaam), but
despite that it is not Sunnah to offer that night prayer in congregation
except occasionally. 

End
quote from Liqaa’aat al-Baab al-Maftooh, 21/117 

See
also the answer to questions no. 106523 and
106518.