If the iqamah is called while I am in a voluntary prayer, what should I do? I ask for clarification.

The questioner: His EminenceThe Shaykh : If the iqamah is called while I am in a voluntary prayer, what should I do? I ask for clarification.

The Shaykh : There are hadiths that serve as an answer to this question, with some clarification and explanation. Imam Muslim narrated in his Sahih from the hadith of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: . The meaning of is: when the mu'adhdhin begins the iqamah, the one performing a voluntary prayer should not continue in it; he must cut it off. He should not complete it with the taslim, because he is not in an obligatory prayer. . It is also reported in some hadiths that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) entered his mosque one morning when the iqamah had been called, and he saw a man praying the two rak'ahs of Fajr. He said: . In another narration: , which carries the same meaning: . This means: you are now praying two rak'ahs, and you will pray two rak'ahs behind the imam; so you will be praying four rak'ahs for Fajr. It is well known that the Fajr prayer is two rak'ahs. This is called a rhetorical question of disapproval; that is, do not pray now that the iqamah has been called. However, what causes difficulty for some people is that in some situations, the one praying a voluntary prayer may be at the end of his prayer, or in the middle of it. So, wherever he is in his voluntary prayer, does he cut it off as soon as the mu'adhdhin says "Allahu Akbar" until the end of the iqamah, or is there a difference of opinion or a detailed ruling on this? The answer is: Yes. Some say that based on the apparent meaning of the hadith, if all that remains for him is the taslim and exiting the prayer with the taslim, and the mu'adhdhin says "Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar," he cuts off the prayer and does not say the taslim. Instead, he stands up to prepare for the row. There are many other opinions as well. The stronger view, and Allah knows best, is the following detailed ruling:
This is a display of deep understanding (tafaqquh) by some of the imams, and we do not contradict them; rather, we support them. The intended meaning of the statement of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): , or as it is said today, is that the understanding (fiqh) of this hadith is that the Muslim should strive to catch the prayer with the imam in the takbirat al-ihram (opening takbir), so that he does not miss any part of the prayer behind the imam, not even the takbirat al-ihram. This is because of the reward and virtue mentioned in some hadiths in Sunan al-Tirmidhi and others, from the hadith of Anas ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him): . From this hadith, we understand the encouragement for the Muslim to be consistent in catching the prayer behind the imam from the very beginning. So, if we return to our issue: A person named Zayd stands up to pray the Sunnah before Dhuhr, for example, and while he is doing so, the iqamah is called. What does he do? Does he cut it off immediately, as we said in the first opinion, even if all that remains for him is to say the taslim to his right, or is there a detailed ruling in this matter?
I say: Yes, the stronger view is the following detailed ruling: It is necessary for this person who is in a voluntary prayer when the iqamah is called to make an effort and estimate. We take two completely opposite examples. We take the first example where all that remains for him to complete his prayer is to say the taslim to his right. And we take an example completely opposite to it, where he said the takbir intending to pray the pre-Dhuhr Sunnah, and the mu'adhdhin said "Iqamah for the prayer, Allahu Akbar." There is no doubt that in the first scenario, he does not cut off the prayer. And there is no doubt that in the second scenario, he cuts off the prayer. Between these two, there are many different scenarios. So, the person praying in this situation must estimate and make an effort. If it becomes predominant in his mind in some scenarios—for example, if he stood up from the second prostration to the second rak'ah and the iqamah was called—here he completes the prayer of two rak'ahs; he needs to perform the second rak'ah, which takes some time. He estimates that if he performs this rak'ah, even with the shortest recitation, such as reciting only al-Fatihah, because it is obligatory, and he is able to shorten the ruku' and sujud and what is between them, and he says the taslim before the imam says the takbir, then he follows the prayer and does not cut it off. However, if it becomes predominant in his mind that he will miss the takbirat al-ihram behind the imam, then he cuts off the prayer and does not complete it, based on his statement: .
In the first scenario, he is certain that he will catch the prayer if he says the taslim, so the virtue of these two rak'ahs is recorded for him. In the other scenario, he entered the prayer with the takbir and the mu'adhdhin said the takbir for the iqamah, so he is certainly unable to catch the takbirat al-ihram. This issue involves extreme precision because it varies from mosque to mosque, from imam to imam, from country to country, from region to region, and from the school of one imam to the school of another. All these matters must be known by this praying person. Otherwise, the precaution, if he is ignorant, is to cut off the prayer immediately. I want to remind you, through this detailed ruling, that some schools of jurisprudence say: when the mu'adhdhin says "The prayer has begun," the imam says the takbir. Can one catch this with such speed if he still has half a rak'ah remaining?! But some of the other imams, may Allah will it, maintain the Sunnah; they order the people to straighten their rows, saying to this one "move forward" and to that one "move back," and "straighten up," . In such a time, he is able to complete his prayer. So, the issue involves precision; whoever is aware of such details can complete the prayer in some situations, and whoever cannot do so due to his lack of detailed knowledge of the imams' practices must cut off the prayer immediately when the mu'adhdhin says "Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar."
This is the answer.