I was praying a voluntary or regular prayer after the Zuhr prayer, and a person came from outside the mosque. He thought I was praying the obligatory prayer and prayed with me, so I prayed
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : I was praying a voluntary or regular prayer after the Zuhr prayer, and a person came from outside the mosque. He thought I was praying the obligatory prayer and prayed with me. I prayed the voluntary prayer, and he completed the Zuhr prayer. What is the ruling? May Allah reward you.
The Shaykh : This action is valid. Its only aspect is that an obligatory prayer was led by a voluntary prayer, and it is permissible for one praying an obligatory prayer to follow one praying a voluntary prayer. The evidence for this is that Mu'adh ibn Jabal (may Allah be pleased with him) used to pray the 'Isha' prayer with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family), then he would go out to his people and pray that prayer, meaning the 'Isha' prayer, with them. It was a voluntary prayer for him and an obligatory prayer for them. Similarly, the only other aspect is that this person who was praying alone became an imam after having been alone, and this is also permissible. That is, it is permissible for a follower to join a person praying alone to become his imam for the obligatory or voluntary prayer. The evidence for this is that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) stood up one night to pray, and Ibn 'Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) was with him. Ibn 'Abbas stood up to pray with him and stood to the left of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family). The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) moved him to his right so that he would be on his right side, and he continued his prayer. So the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) was praying alone and then became an imam. If someone were to say: "This was in a voluntary prayer, and voluntary prayer is lighter than obligatory prayer," we would say: The original principle is that obligatory and voluntary prayers are equal in rulings unless there is evidence to the contrary. This principle is indicated by the fact that when the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) reported the prayer of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) on his mount, wherever it faced, they said: "except that he does not pray the obligatory prayer on it". Their exception indicates that, were it not for this, the obligatory and voluntary prayers would have been equal in being prayed on the mount while traveling. This hadith, which I mean the prayer of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) on his mount while traveling, is only for voluntary prayer. As for the obligatory prayer, it is not prayed on the mount; rather, it is obligatory for a person, when the time arrives, to dismount and pray on the ground.
The questioner : May Allah reward you with good.
The Shaykh : This action is valid. Its only aspect is that an obligatory prayer was led by a voluntary prayer, and it is permissible for one praying an obligatory prayer to follow one praying a voluntary prayer. The evidence for this is that Mu'adh ibn Jabal (may Allah be pleased with him) used to pray the 'Isha' prayer with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family), then he would go out to his people and pray that prayer, meaning the 'Isha' prayer, with them. It was a voluntary prayer for him and an obligatory prayer for them. Similarly, the only other aspect is that this person who was praying alone became an imam after having been alone, and this is also permissible. That is, it is permissible for a follower to join a person praying alone to become his imam for the obligatory or voluntary prayer. The evidence for this is that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) stood up one night to pray, and Ibn 'Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) was with him. Ibn 'Abbas stood up to pray with him and stood to the left of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family). The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) moved him to his right so that he would be on his right side, and he continued his prayer. So the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) was praying alone and then became an imam. If someone were to say: "This was in a voluntary prayer, and voluntary prayer is lighter than obligatory prayer," we would say: The original principle is that obligatory and voluntary prayers are equal in rulings unless there is evidence to the contrary. This principle is indicated by the fact that when the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) reported the prayer of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) on his mount, wherever it faced, they said: "except that he does not pray the obligatory prayer on it". Their exception indicates that, were it not for this, the obligatory and voluntary prayers would have been equal in being prayed on the mount while traveling. This hadith, which I mean the prayer of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) on his mount while traveling, is only for voluntary prayer. As for the obligatory prayer, it is not prayed on the mount; rather, it is obligatory for a person, when the time arrives, to dismount and pray on the ground.
The questioner : May Allah reward you with good.