If a man prays a voluntary prayer and then another man comes and prays the obligatory prayer with him, does he recite aloud and complete the obligatory prayer, or does he conclude his prayer and leave the second man to complete the prayer alone?
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The questioner : The listener Muhammad Hamid from the Arab Republic of Egypt says: If a man prays a voluntary prayer and then another man comes and prays the obligatory prayer with him, does he recite aloud and complete the obligatory prayer, or does he conclude his prayer and leave the second man to complete the prayer alone? And does the prayer become valid in that case?
The Shaykh : This depends on the disagreement among the scholars regarding whether it is permissible for the one praying a voluntary prayer to be the imam for the one praying an obligatory prayer.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : This is a well-known issue of scholarly disagreement. Some scholars say that it is not permissible for the one praying an obligatory prayer to pray behind the one praying a voluntary prayer, because the higher one cannot be behind the lower one. The obligatory prayer is above the voluntary prayer, so how can the one performing the voluntary prayer be the imam for the one performing the obligatory prayer, when the latter is higher in his worship?
And some of them say that it is permissible, meaning that it is permissible for the one praying an obligatory prayer to be a follower behind the one praying a voluntary prayer. This is the stronger position, because Mu'adh ibn Jabal (may Allah be pleased with him) used to pray the night prayer with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and then he would go to his people and pray that prayer with them. It was a voluntary prayer for him and an obligatory prayer for his people, and it was not censured. If someone were to say, "Perhaps the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did not know about it," we would say that this contradicts the apparent meaning. And if we assume that the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) did not know about it, then Allah the Exalted knew about it. If this had been something that Allah did not approve of for His servants, Allah the Mighty and Majestic would have made it clear. Therefore, Allah the Exalted used to expose the hypocrites when they did what He did not approve of and concealed it from the believers, as Allah the Exalted said:[An-Nisa 4:108] And because the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) used to infer permissibility from Allah's approval of them, Jabir ibn 'Abdullah said: "We used to practice coitus interruptus while the Qur'an was being revealed", meaning that if this had been something forbidden, the Qur'an would have forbidden it.
The important point is that the stronger position is that it is permissible for the one praying a voluntary prayer to be the imam for the one praying an obligatory prayer. Based on this, if a person enters the mosque and there is a man in it, and he says to him, "I want you to pray with me in congregation," there is no harm. He stands up and prays with him, and it is a voluntary prayer for the imam and an obligatory prayer for the follower.
As for if he comes and the man has already started the prayer, this is also a matter of disagreement. The question is whether it is permissible to intend to be the imam or the follower during the prayer, or not? Some scholars say it is not permissible, meaning that a person cannot switch from praying alone to being an imam. And some of them say it is permissible, and this is the correct view. Its evidence is the hadith of Ibn 'Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) that he spent a night at his aunt Maymunah's house. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) got up to pray the night prayer, and Ibn 'Abbas got up and prayed with him. The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) did not prevent him from joining him in the prayer. If this had been prohibited, the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) would have prevented him. What is established in voluntary prayer is established in obligatory prayer unless there is evidence to the contrary, and there is no evidence prohibiting it in obligatory prayer.
Based on this stronger position, if you come and the person is praying, there is no harm in saying, "You are my imam," and following him. If the prayer is one of silent recitation, like the daytime prayers, he will not recite aloud. If the prayer is one of loud recitation, meaning like the night prayer, the apparent view is that he remains in his silent recitation, because maintaining what is prescribed in his own prayer is more preferable than maintaining what is prescribed in the prayer of another. Loud or silent recitation is not an obligatory matter such that we would say he must recite aloud or he must recite silently. If he recites silently, there is no harm, and this is the most likely view in my opinion. And if he recites aloud, there is no harm.
In summary, the answer is that it is permissible for a person, if he enters the mosque and has missed the prayer, to ask someone to pray with him in congregation, whether the one entering is the imam or the imam is the one who was in the mosque.
Second, if the prayer is one of loud recitation, as if it were at night, and the imam is the one in the mosque who has already completed his prayer, then it is permissible for him to recite aloud out of consideration for the follower whose prayer is one of loud recitation. And it is permissible for him not to recite aloud out of consideration for his own prayer, because he is praying a voluntary prayer. And this is closer to the truth in my opinion if he found him having already started his prayer.
And if this person who wanted to pray with him had already started a voluntary prayer, let him complete it with two rak'ahs, and then the one who entered performs the remainder of the prayer. But if he found him before he entered the prayer and said, "I want you to pray with me," then he prays with him a complete prayer. That is, if it is a four-rak'ah prayer, he prays four; if it is a three-rak'ah prayer, he prays three, and so on. Yes.
The Shaykh : This depends on the disagreement among the scholars regarding whether it is permissible for the one praying a voluntary prayer to be the imam for the one praying an obligatory prayer.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : This is a well-known issue of scholarly disagreement. Some scholars say that it is not permissible for the one praying an obligatory prayer to pray behind the one praying a voluntary prayer, because the higher one cannot be behind the lower one. The obligatory prayer is above the voluntary prayer, so how can the one performing the voluntary prayer be the imam for the one performing the obligatory prayer, when the latter is higher in his worship?
And some of them say that it is permissible, meaning that it is permissible for the one praying an obligatory prayer to be a follower behind the one praying a voluntary prayer. This is the stronger position, because Mu'adh ibn Jabal (may Allah be pleased with him) used to pray the night prayer with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and then he would go to his people and pray that prayer with them. It was a voluntary prayer for him and an obligatory prayer for his people, and it was not censured. If someone were to say, "Perhaps the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did not know about it," we would say that this contradicts the apparent meaning. And if we assume that the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) did not know about it, then Allah the Exalted knew about it. If this had been something that Allah did not approve of for His servants, Allah the Mighty and Majestic would have made it clear. Therefore, Allah the Exalted used to expose the hypocrites when they did what He did not approve of and concealed it from the believers, as Allah the Exalted said:
They conceal [their evil intentions and deeds] from the people, but they cannot conceal [them] from Allah, and He is with them [in His knowledge] when they spend the night in such as He does not accept of speech
يستخفون من الناس ولا يستخفون من الله وهو معهم إذ يبيّتون ما لا يرضى من القولThe important point is that the stronger position is that it is permissible for the one praying a voluntary prayer to be the imam for the one praying an obligatory prayer. Based on this, if a person enters the mosque and there is a man in it, and he says to him, "I want you to pray with me in congregation," there is no harm. He stands up and prays with him, and it is a voluntary prayer for the imam and an obligatory prayer for the follower.
As for if he comes and the man has already started the prayer, this is also a matter of disagreement. The question is whether it is permissible to intend to be the imam or the follower during the prayer, or not? Some scholars say it is not permissible, meaning that a person cannot switch from praying alone to being an imam. And some of them say it is permissible, and this is the correct view. Its evidence is the hadith of Ibn 'Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) that he spent a night at his aunt Maymunah's house. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) got up to pray the night prayer, and Ibn 'Abbas got up and prayed with him. The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) did not prevent him from joining him in the prayer. If this had been prohibited, the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) would have prevented him. What is established in voluntary prayer is established in obligatory prayer unless there is evidence to the contrary, and there is no evidence prohibiting it in obligatory prayer.
Based on this stronger position, if you come and the person is praying, there is no harm in saying, "You are my imam," and following him. If the prayer is one of silent recitation, like the daytime prayers, he will not recite aloud. If the prayer is one of loud recitation, meaning like the night prayer, the apparent view is that he remains in his silent recitation, because maintaining what is prescribed in his own prayer is more preferable than maintaining what is prescribed in the prayer of another. Loud or silent recitation is not an obligatory matter such that we would say he must recite aloud or he must recite silently. If he recites silently, there is no harm, and this is the most likely view in my opinion. And if he recites aloud, there is no harm.
In summary, the answer is that it is permissible for a person, if he enters the mosque and has missed the prayer, to ask someone to pray with him in congregation, whether the one entering is the imam or the imam is the one who was in the mosque.
Second, if the prayer is one of loud recitation, as if it were at night, and the imam is the one in the mosque who has already completed his prayer, then it is permissible for him to recite aloud out of consideration for the follower whose prayer is one of loud recitation. And it is permissible for him not to recite aloud out of consideration for his own prayer, because he is praying a voluntary prayer. And this is closer to the truth in my opinion if he found him having already started his prayer.
And if this person who wanted to pray with him had already started a voluntary prayer, let him complete it with two rak'ahs, and then the one who entered performs the remainder of the prayer. But if he found him before he entered the prayer and said, "I want you to pray with me," then he prays with him a complete prayer. That is, if it is a four-rak'ah prayer, he prays four; if it is a three-rak'ah prayer, he prays three, and so on. Yes.