NAIROBI—The deputy imam of the Nairobi Jamia Mosque has apologised for leading a prayer at the residence of the deputy president on Wednesday evening during an Iftar dinner.
Sheikh Jamaludin Osman said it was not proper for a non-Muslim to perform an earnest prayer without first fulfilling the conditions needed to perform one.
Is it permissible for a Non-Muslim to pray with the Muslims?
It is not permissible for a non-Muslim to pray either in the ranks or on his own. What he has to do is to enter #Islam before he prays, then to purify himself [by doing ghusl], and then fulfil the conditions of prayer.
— Sheikh Jamaludin Osman (@JamaludinSheikh) April 21, 2022
“It is not permissible for a non-Muslim to pray either in the ranks or on his own.
What he has to do is to enter Islam before he prays, then to purify himself [by doing ghusl], and then fulfil the conditions of prayer,” the Sheikh said in a statement published on Twitter after backlash on social media.
He clarified that for any person to pray, he/she needs to be a “Muslim, being of sound mind, and having reached the age of discretion…No act of worship is valid unless one is a Muslim, of sound mind and has reached the age of discretion, apart from zakaah, which is obligatory upon the insane and minors, according to the correct opinion.”
At the end of his statement, sheikh Jamaludin regreted his actions.
“May Allah forgive us and hopefully this mistake will not happen again,” he said in a move seen as unprecedented since no apologies was given for similar events in the past.
In previous years, President Uhuru attended and prayed along the Muslims when he attended Iftar program at the Jamia mosque.
