What is the ruling on one who prays alone behind the rows when there is space in them?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : A man always comes and prays alone behind the rows, even though there is space for more than one person in the row. Should the imam order him to repeat the prayer, or what is the ruling on his prayer? And what is the duty of the imam toward this man?
The Shaykh : If there is space in front of him to join the row, but he deliberately prays alone, his prayer is invalid. It is obligatory for the imam to remind him and teach him. Then the imam has no other recourse but to mention it to him once, twice, three times, and then leave him to his own devices.
The questioner : This man always comes to the mosque and prays in this manner, alone by himself.
The Shaykh : I know.
The questioner : I know, more than once.
The Shaykh : I mean, does he not pray with the congregation?
The questioner : (Peace and blessings be upon him) enters, for example, when the adhan is called and the iqamah is made, he begins to pray alone by himself, and his voice rises above the other worshippers, and so on. Then he prolongs the prayer. The arguments he uses are that there are secrets you do not know. He cites the hadith of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) So I said to him, you prolong the prayer more than we do. Where are the two evil ones that defended you? He said there are excuses and so on. We have directed him more than once. Despite there being space in the row, he prays by himself, then leaves. He has even cast doubts in the hearts of people, and so on. And this is the matter.
The Shaykh : But you, may Allah bless you, when you mentioned that he does not join the row, you led us to believe that he prays with the imam. Yes. You led us to believe that he prays with the imam. The only thing is that he prays alone. So I answered based on what came before. But you mean something else, which is that he prays alone. So why did you mention joining the row or not joining the row?
The questioner : He comes to the second row behind the imam. Does he pray with you, or does he pray by himself?
The Shaykh : Hello.
The questioner : Okay.
The Shaykh : He wants to pray. Is he allowed to pray at the back of the mosque alone while the imam has not yet called for the prayer? No. If he moves forward a little, or more than a little, and so on, it is all wrong. He must pray with the Muslim congregation. The excuses he mentions are ones that any person can claim. I fear he is one of these superstitious people, meaning.
The questioner : This weighs on my heart.
The Shaykh : Yes, that is enough. You have relieved us.
The questioner : Let us move on from the topic. This question, may Allah reward you with good. I mean, is this text established in the narrations? We are certain that as long as the hadith is authentic, acting upon it is obligatory.
The Shaykh : Praise be to Allah.
The questioner : But there are people who wanted to hear in this session. I wanted to hear you. If there is anything? I mean, can I tell you that my statement is established? But I wanted to get as much as possible on this topic.
The Shaykh : May Allah reward you with good. May Allah reward you with good. May Allah hear you.
The Shaykh : If there is space in front of him to join the row, but he deliberately prays alone, his prayer is invalid. It is obligatory for the imam to remind him and teach him. Then the imam has no other recourse but to mention it to him once, twice, three times, and then leave him to his own devices.
The questioner : This man always comes to the mosque and prays in this manner, alone by himself.
The Shaykh : I know.
The questioner : I know, more than once.
The Shaykh : I mean, does he not pray with the congregation?
The questioner : (Peace and blessings be upon him) enters, for example, when the adhan is called and the iqamah is made, he begins to pray alone by himself, and his voice rises above the other worshippers, and so on. Then he prolongs the prayer. The arguments he uses are that there are secrets you do not know. He cites the hadith of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)
There is no prayer for one who is not defended by the two evil ones.
لا صلاة لمن يدافعه الأخبثينThe Shaykh : But you, may Allah bless you, when you mentioned that he does not join the row, you led us to believe that he prays with the imam. Yes. You led us to believe that he prays with the imam. The only thing is that he prays alone. So I answered based on what came before. But you mean something else, which is that he prays alone. So why did you mention joining the row or not joining the row?
The questioner : He comes to the second row behind the imam. Does he pray with you, or does he pray by himself?
The Shaykh : Hello.
The questioner : Okay.
The Shaykh : He wants to pray. Is he allowed to pray at the back of the mosque alone while the imam has not yet called for the prayer? No. If he moves forward a little, or more than a little, and so on, it is all wrong. He must pray with the Muslim congregation. The excuses he mentions are ones that any person can claim. I fear he is one of these superstitious people, meaning.
The questioner : This weighs on my heart.
The Shaykh : Yes, that is enough. You have relieved us.
The questioner : Let us move on from the topic. This question, may Allah reward you with good. I mean, is this text established in the narrations? We are certain that as long as the hadith is authentic, acting upon it is obligatory.
The Shaykh : Praise be to Allah.
The questioner : But there are people who wanted to hear in this session. I wanted to hear you. If there is anything? I mean, can I tell you that my statement is established? But I wanted to get as much as possible on this topic.
The Shaykh : May Allah reward you with good. May Allah reward you with good. May Allah hear you.
Source
سلسلة الهدى والنور، المجلس 274 — d3watuna.com (21:01)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.