The Ruling on Praying Behind the Rows
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His Eminence the Shaykh: I entered the mosque and found all the rows full,And after I finished the prayer, the imam said to me: I repeated the prayer; because you prayed behind the rows alone, so what is the validity of his statement?
If a person comes and finds the rows complete, let him pray behind the rows alone with the imam, and there is no repetition required of him, and this is the stronger opinion among the opinions of the scholars.
And the issue has three opinions of the scholars: The first opinion: that the prayer of the one who is alone behind the rows is valid, even if he had a place in the rows in front of him, and that entering the row is on the basis of recommendation, not on the basis of obligation.
And this is the school of the majority of the Muslim community; because it is the school of Imam Malik, Imam al-Shafi'i, and Imam Abu Hanifah,And a narration from Imam Ahmad, meaning: meaning half of the school of Imam Ahmad, with those who permit praying behind the rows even if he has a place.
The second opinion: That whoever prays alone behind the rows, even if he did not find a place, his prayer is not valid.
If you compare the two opinions, you will find that this is at the extreme of strictness, and this is at the extreme of ease.
The third view: And this is the middle path: that if you find the row complete, stand alone;Because Allah says: [al-Taghabun: 16] And here there is no ability,If a person says: If you have the ability, pull a person. We said: this is not permissible; because pulling one person involves aggression against him, and it causes disturbance to the rest of the worshippers, and it breaks the row.
As for it being aggression against the one you pulled, it is because you are moving him from a superior place to an inferior place.
And it disturbs his prayer as well; because he does not know what pulled him.
And as for it being a disturbance to the worshippers, it is because this row will come closer together, and everyone in it will move without any need, in order to straighten the row and fill the gap in this row.
And as for it being a break in the row, that is clear.
If someone were to say: This person can move forward and stand with the imam,We said: This is also a mistake; because if he moves forward, he will harm the worshippers in front of him, as he will pass through them, and if the mosque has twenty rows, how many will he pass through? Twenty rows; so he will harm them, then if he moves forward and stands with the imam and another person comes after him a minute or two later,And we said to him: Go with the imam, there are two with the imam,And after a minute or two the third person came, we say: Go with the imam, and if there is a complete row with the imam, but if he stands in the row and a person comes to him, they become a row, and if no one comes to him, his being with the congregation in the actions, even if he is not with them in the row, is better than his not being with them in the row or in the actions.
This is the middle opinion that Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah chose, and that our Shaykh 'Abd al-Rahman al-Sa'di (may Allah have mercy on him) chose: that whenever a person finds the rows complete in front of him, let him enter with the imam, even if he prays alone, and his prayer is valid.
And we say to the questioner: If you repeated the prayer based on the imam's statement, that is for the best, the second prayer becomes a voluntary prayer if the first was valid, or it becomes valid and the first becomes a voluntary prayer if the first was not valid -Meaning: as an obligatory prayer- but you now know the stronger opinion, that if you come and the rows are complete, pray with the imam even if you are alone.
If a person comes and finds the rows complete, let him pray behind the rows alone with the imam, and there is no repetition required of him, and this is the stronger opinion among the opinions of the scholars.
And the issue has three opinions of the scholars: The first opinion: that the prayer of the one who is alone behind the rows is valid, even if he had a place in the rows in front of him, and that entering the row is on the basis of recommendation, not on the basis of obligation.
And this is the school of the majority of the Muslim community; because it is the school of Imam Malik, Imam al-Shafi'i, and Imam Abu Hanifah,And a narration from Imam Ahmad, meaning: meaning half of the school of Imam Ahmad, with those who permit praying behind the rows even if he has a place.
The second opinion: That whoever prays alone behind the rows, even if he did not find a place, his prayer is not valid.
If you compare the two opinions, you will find that this is at the extreme of strictness, and this is at the extreme of ease.
The third view: And this is the middle path: that if you find the row complete, stand alone;Because Allah says:
So fear Allah as much as you are able
فَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ مَا اسْتَطَعْتُمْAs for it being aggression against the one you pulled, it is because you are moving him from a superior place to an inferior place.
And it disturbs his prayer as well; because he does not know what pulled him.
And as for it being a disturbance to the worshippers, it is because this row will come closer together, and everyone in it will move without any need, in order to straighten the row and fill the gap in this row.
And as for it being a break in the row, that is clear.
If someone were to say: This person can move forward and stand with the imam,We said: This is also a mistake; because if he moves forward, he will harm the worshippers in front of him, as he will pass through them, and if the mosque has twenty rows, how many will he pass through? Twenty rows; so he will harm them, then if he moves forward and stands with the imam and another person comes after him a minute or two later,And we said to him: Go with the imam, there are two with the imam,And after a minute or two the third person came, we say: Go with the imam, and if there is a complete row with the imam, but if he stands in the row and a person comes to him, they become a row, and if no one comes to him, his being with the congregation in the actions, even if he is not with them in the row, is better than his not being with them in the row or in the actions.
This is the middle opinion that Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah chose, and that our Shaykh 'Abd al-Rahman al-Sa'di (may Allah have mercy on him) chose: that whenever a person finds the rows complete in front of him, let him enter with the imam, even if he prays alone, and his prayer is valid.
And we say to the questioner: If you repeated the prayer based on the imam's statement, that is for the best, the second prayer becomes a voluntary prayer if the first was valid, or it becomes valid and the first becomes a voluntary prayer if the first was not valid -Meaning: as an obligatory prayer- but you now know the stronger opinion, that if you come and the rows are complete, pray with the imam even if you are alone.