Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,

As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.  (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)

One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:

is circumcision a condition for leading or praying sala `at? 

(There may be some grammatical and spelling errors in the above statement. The forum does not change anything from questions, comments and statements received from our readers for circulation in confidentiality.)

Answer:

Circumcision prayer

In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is no one (no idol, no person, no grave, no prophet, no imam, no dai, nobody!) worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad(saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

Sahih Al-Bukhari Hadith 7.777 Narrated by Abu Huraira

Allah's Messenger (saws) said, "Five practices are characteristics of the ‘Fitra’ (nature): circumcision, shaving the pubic region, removing the hair under the arms, clipping the nails and cutting the moustaches short."

Circumcision is a preferred Sunnah and a characteristic of ‘fitrah’ or nature; and not an obligatory act in Islam. There is absolutely no condition in Shariah that a man has to be circumcised to lead the prayer; and the prayer prayed behind an imam who is un-circumcised will be considered valid in the sight of Shariah.

Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

Your Brother in Islam,

Burhan