What is the ruling on the second congregation in the mosque? And what is the authenticity of the report of Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) regarding that?

The questioner : Well, what is your opinion on the issue of repeating the second congregation in the mosque? One of the brothers asks about the report of Anas that al-Bukhari narrated in his Sahih; what is the response to it?

The Shaykh : Of course, you want to know what the answer is.

The questioner : Yes.

The Shaykh : As for us, we do not refute it. [He laughs]The Shaykh ]
The Shaykh : First, I want to draw your attention to the fact that this report found in Sahih al-Bukhari is a mursal (hanging) report, not a musnad (connected) one. However, it was connected in the external sources to the Sahih with a sound chain, and it is established from Anas. But it has no relation to the topic we have adopted, following the practical stance of the Salaf, and then following the majority of the four Imams who stated that repeating the congregation in one mosque is not prescribed. But we say, following them as well: this mosque in which repeating the congregation is not prescribed is not every mosque; rather, it has specific characteristics. The mosque in which repeating the congregation is not prescribed is a mosque that has a regular imam and a regular mu'adhdhin (caller to prayer).
One of the brothers: Peace be upon you.
The Shaykh : And upon you be peace. It has a regular imam and a regular mu'adhdhin. If a group enters this mosque and finds that the imam has already prayed, they pray individually, as Imam al-Shafi'i said in his book . If we understand these two conditions, the essence of which is that not every mosque is one in which the second congregation prayer is disliked, but rather only a mosque with these two conditions. And if we return to the report of Anas ibn Malik, there is no indication in this report that this mosque had a regular imam and a regular mu'adhdhin. Therefore, it has absolutely no relation to the topic; because we do not say that repeating the congregation prayer is permissible in every mosque, but only in a mosque where the two previously mentioned conditions are met: the regular imam and the regular mu'adhdhin.
The Shaykh : This is from one aspect. From another aspect, it is possible for a person to establish a congregation in a mosque that has a regular imam and a regular mu'adhdhin, but he has an excuse. I know from my own experience that when I was traveling from Damascus to Aleppo, a prayer would catch up with us on the road, so we would enter a mosque. We would observe if there was anyone in the mosque, because the people had prayed and finished, and the mosque was in a village, naturally. If we found people there, we would pray individually; if we did not find anyone, we would pray in a corner of the mosque. Because the prohibited thing that is feared from saying that the congregation can be repeated is that the painful reality existing today in many mosques here and there would be realized. The Umayyad Mosque in Damascus is one of the largest mosques in the entire Islamic world. We used to enter after the 'Asr prayer, close to Maghrib, and find a group there praying the 'Asr prayer. Allah knows how many congregations were established between 'Asr and Maghrib. In this, the Muslim community is divided. The wisdom behind the non-prescription of the second congregation in a mosque that has a regular imam and a regular mu'adhdhin is to preserve the large number of the first congregation. If Muslims become lax, as is the reality today, and they establish multiple congregations, the first congregation decreases. Therefore, you find that mosques are not filled with worshippers in the congregations, unlike on Friday. I [ ... ] they only pray Friday. But one of the reasons for the large congregation on Friday and its smallness in the five daily prayers is that they pray multiple congregations after the first one. So, from the perspective of blocking the means to harm and preventing the reduction of the first congregation, establishing the second congregation after the first imam is prohibited. So in cases like those I described earlier, if we are travelers, for example, and we enter a mosque that we know has a regular imam and a regular mu'adhdhin, but no one is present in the mosque, we pray and leave, and we do not leave a trace of such a second congregation. It is possible that Anas's situation in that prayer he prayed was not what we observe, and it is possible that it was otherwise. But what can be said, at the least, is that this report does not describe that mosque as having a regular imam and a regular mu'adhdhin. Therefore, this report does not invalidate what is established from the dealings of the Muslims in the early centuries in their preservation of the first congregation.
The Shaykh : Then we mention what contradicts this report, assuming that it contained evidence for the permissibility of the second congregation. Opposing it, under the mentioned assumption, is the report of 'Abdullah ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) that he went out with two of his companions to the mosque for the Zuhr prayer—as I recall—and he found the people leaving the mosque, meaning the congregation prayer had ended. So he did not enter the mosque with them, but rather returned and prayed at home. He knew for certain the saying of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him): . So what prevented him from entering the mosque and praying in congregation in the mosque? He knew that the second congregation is not prescribed in a mosque where this imam has prayed. Therefore, he preferred to pray in congregation at home rather than in congregation in the mosque, because this was the way of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) and the Companions, as al-Hasan al-Basri said: "The Companions of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), when they entered the mosque and found that the imam had already prayed, would pray individually." And this report was narrated by Ibn Abi Shaybah with a strong chain from al-Hasan al-Basri, and Imam al-Shafi'i adopted it, mentioning that it is an established matter.
The Shaykh : So he said, among the evidence that supports his opinion: "If a group enters the mosque and finds that the imam has already prayed, they pray individually." Then he mentioned the reason, saying: "Because it was not the practice of the Salaf." He said: "And we have preserved that a group of the Companions of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) missed the prayer in congregation, so they prayed individually. And they were able to gather in the mosque again, but they did not do so because they disliked gathering in the mosque twice." This is the statement of Imam al-Shafi'i, and it is explicit in meaning and explicit in using as evidence the report that Ibn Abi Shaybah narrated in his Musannaf. Yes.

The questioner : It has a slight connection to this, and it is the hadith: "Whoever hears..."