The Ruling on the Prayer of a Person Standing Alone Behind the Rows
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What is the ruling on the prayer of a person praying alone behind the row? Is it valid or invalid?
The four Imams said: Al-Shafi'i, Malik, and Abu Hanifah,And Ahmad, in a narration from him: The prayer of a person praying alone behind the row is valid, whether the row is complete or not,And they said: The saying of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him): "There is no prayer for a person praying alone behind the row" is like his saying: "There is no prayer in the presence of food" , and the meaning is: there is no complete prayer, but there is a narration from Ahmad that the prayer is not valid for a person praying alone behind the row in any case, contrary to the narration in which the three Imams agreed, and this is the well-known position of the school of Imam Ahmad: that the prayer of a person praying alone behind the row is not valid under any circumstances, even if the row is complete.
And Shaykh al-Islam (may Allah have mercy on him) took the middle position and said: If the row is complete, then the prayer of the person praying alone behind it is valid; because he is now unable to join the row [al-Baqarah: 286] And if the row is not complete, it is not permissible for him to pray alone behind the row due to the lack of an excuse, and this is the opinion chosen by Shaykh al-Islam (may Allah have mercy on him), which is also the choice of our Shaykh 'Abd al-Rahman ibn Sa'di (may Allah have mercy on him),And this is what we see to be correct: That if the row is complete, pray alone, do not pull anyone, and do not move forward to pray with the imam.
This is the correct opinion, which we see to be closer to the Sunnah than the opinion of absolute invalidity or absolute validity.
The four Imams said: Al-Shafi'i, Malik, and Abu Hanifah,And Ahmad, in a narration from him: The prayer of a person praying alone behind the row is valid, whether the row is complete or not,And they said: The saying of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him): "There is no prayer for a person praying alone behind the row" is like his saying: "There is no prayer in the presence of food" , and the meaning is: there is no complete prayer, but there is a narration from Ahmad that the prayer is not valid for a person praying alone behind the row in any case, contrary to the narration in which the three Imams agreed, and this is the well-known position of the school of Imam Ahmad: that the prayer of a person praying alone behind the row is not valid under any circumstances, even if the row is complete.
And Shaykh al-Islam (may Allah have mercy on him) took the middle position and said: If the row is complete, then the prayer of the person praying alone behind it is valid; because he is now unable to join the row
Allah does not charge a soul except [with that within] its capacity
لا يُكَلِّفُ اللَّهُ نَفْساً إِلَاّ وُسْعَهَاThis is the correct opinion, which we see to be closer to the Sunnah than the opinion of absolute invalidity or absolute validity.