Following The Imam In Tarawih With A Translation
After sharing my insights on holding the Quran behind the Imam during Tarawih prayers, questions emerged about the use of translations.
This is permissible with two conditions:
1. Avoid reciting from it aloud.
2. Aim to deepen your reflection on the Quran.
Imam al-Nawawi states:
“If someone flips through pages during their prayer or looks at texts other than the Quran, reflecting silently, their prayer remains valid, even if this action is prolonged. Though generally disliked,” he states in “al-Majmoo” (4/95),
The validity of this practice is strengthened by the objectives of Shariah: the protection of faith, as well as the fiqh principle that the disliked changes to permissibility if there is a compelling need for its observance.
The effort to focus and comprehend the Imam’s recitations justifies this exception, as understanding the meanings behind the verses is crucial for deepening our prayer and contemplation. Additionally, in the absence of explicit evidence that prohibits this, it falls under a disputed ijtihad, and ijtihads that align with the objectives of the Shariah and the principles of fiqh are preferred.
Finally, an analogy (qiyas) could be made that a non-Arab speaker is encouraged to internally ponder the meanings of the prayer, and they will do so in their language, which is allowed, in fact encouraged, as long as they do not speak out loud. The same applies to a person using the translation to follow the Imam.
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Allah knows best
Suhaib Webb