Salaam guys, at times I'm forced to pray with the Shia (whether in 'jamaat' or furada), and at times I don't know whether doing certain actions breaks my Salah, such as:
- Doing qunoot in the 2nd rakaat
- Not turning head to sides completely for salaams
- Praying on Turbah/Mohr/Sajdagah. I heard from some people that since you don't touch the floor, that it invalidates your Salaah
Are you asking about Qunoot in the second rak'ah of fajr? As a Hanbali we follow that it is a bid'ah to always do it, therefore, whenever I'm in a situation where the Imam does it, as the Imam at my local masjid does it quite often, I just stand there and don't do anything. Here are two fatwas from a Hanbali/Salafi perspective on the issue:
https://islamqa.info/en/20031 http://islamqa.info/en/59925Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allaah have mercy on him) said concerning some matters of ijtihaad in which the scholars differed, such as Qunoot in Fajr and Witr:
The scholars are agreed that if a person does both, his worship is valid and there is no sin on him, but they disputed [?] concerning which is better and what the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to do. With regard to the issue of reciting Qunoot in Fajr and Witr, the issue of whether the Basmalah should be spoken out loud, and the issue of the words used to seek refuge with Allaah and so on ... They are agreed that if a person says the Basmalah out loud, his prayer is valid, and if a person says it silently his prayer is also valid; and that if a person recites Qunoot in Fajr his prayer is valid and if he does not recite it his prayer is valid, and the same applies to Witr.
As a conclusion, it shouldn't have any effect on your Salah no matter which opinion you follow.
As far as not turning your head for Salams, then this is a Sunnah and it is not a Pillar, Obligation or Condition of Salat. Therefore your prayer would be valid according to all four madhhabs. You need to just make the salam, but if you do it without turning your head then there is no harm.
How can praying on a turbah invalidate your Salat? You pray on prayer mats don't you? It's in the Shi'i madhhab that not praying on "earth" is considered invalid, and that's why they pray on it in the first place.
Some non-Shia related questions are:- I've been hearing some people saying that 'laymen don't have madhabs' and that we should follow our local Sheikhs. Some of my local Imams aren't a Hanafi, does that mean I shouldn't ask them for advice?
- Is mixing between madhabs a little allowed? The people at the local masjid follow a combination of Hanafi and Shaafi madhabs.
The issue of madhhabs has been somewhat muddled because historically, madhhabs tended to be local. I.e., if you live in India, the mashayikh are likely to be Hanafi, therefore, by default you would be a Hanafi. In our modern times, especially in the west, maintaining this is practically impossible since most masaajid are like what you mentioned; a mixture of Hanafis and Shafi'ees with a few Hanbalis running around (and maybe Malikis depending on your locale). Therefore, you can't possibly stick with one madhhab because it maybe that the Hanafi in your area is not that strong in certain issues (maybe marriage for example), so how can you follow him if there is someone more qualified?
As far as the issue of the layman has no madhhab, this is actually the majority opinion believe it or not as the layman by definition can't understand a madhhab, or else he is a student of knowledge. If we start saying layman must follow a madhhab, then we will go back to the days of different madhhabs praying different salawat in the same masjid, turning a school of thought into a sect.
والله أعلم