Is the prayer in the second congregation valid?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner: Is the second prayer, or the second congregation, not valid for the one who has already prayed?
The Shaykh: Do you mean to say that his prayer is valid, or not?
The questioner : ... .
The Shaykh: No, of course the prayer is valid, but the congregation is not valid. This is the statement of Imam al-Shafi'i in his book *al-Umm*. The best person I have seen to speak on this issue among the early jurists is Imam al-Shafi'i, followed by Imam Malik in *al-Mudawwanah*. Imam al-Shafi'i says in clear Arabic, and he is a Qurayshi as is well known: "If one enters the mosque congregation and finds that the imam has already prayed, pray individually. If they pray in congregation, their prayer is permissible, but I dislike it for them, because it was not the practice of the Salaf." He said: "If there is a mosque on the side of the road that has no regular imam and no regular mu'adhdhin, it is permissible for them to pray a second congregation." Then he confirms his first statement by saying: "And we have preserved that a group of the Companions of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) missed the prayer with the congregation, so they prayed individually, although they were able to gather again, but they did not do so, because they disliked gathering in the mosque twice." This is a text from Imam al-Shafi'i on the issue, both negatively and positively: negatively, the second congregation is not prescribed; positively, if they do it, their prayer is valid, but there is no virtue in the congregation; rather, it is disliked.
The questioner : Yes, I do.
The questioner : ... .
The Shaykh: We do not have a text regarding prohibition. We say: it is disliked, and that is all.
The questioner: Is it better to pray individually?
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner: Is it better to pray individually?
The Shaykh: Individually, without a doubt. But this does not mean that we become lazy about the congregational prayer. No, this must make us strive to perform the prayer with the congregation. Because this congregational prayer is not, either, a recommended practice (sunnah) as many people suppose. Rather, the congregational prayer is obligatory, like the prayer itself. The congregational prayer is obligatory like the prayer. Because Allah (Mighty and Majestic) says:[Al-Baqarah 2:43]. His saying (the Exalted): [Al-Baqarah 2:43] is not a repetition of His saying: , but rather, His saying at the end of the verse is a legislation of a new ruling. If we remove what is between the two ends of the verse, the first end and the last end, we have three sentences: , , [Al-Baqarah 2:43]. If we remove the middle sentence and say: [Al-Baqarah 2:43]; is it a repetition of the first sentence? By no means. The first sentence means: ; that is: perfect its performance, and it does not mean just pray and that is all. means perfect its performance. The third and last sentence: [Al-Baqarah 2:43]; that is: pray this prayer that you were commanded to establish with the congregation of the Muslims. We must also strive to perform the congregational prayer in the mosques. We do not say: if we miss it, we will pray individually. Because we would have lost twice: we lost the prescribed congregation, and we lost the congregation that is not prescribed for us but is prescribed for some of them.
The questioner: He—Allah knows best—al-Shafi'i says his word: the second or third congregation, striving for the congregation...
The Shaykh: Yes, that is it, it is so.
The questioner : That is correct.
The Shaykh: Yes.
The Shaykh: Do you mean to say that his prayer is valid, or not?
The questioner : ... .
The Shaykh: No, of course the prayer is valid, but the congregation is not valid. This is the statement of Imam al-Shafi'i in his book *al-Umm*. The best person I have seen to speak on this issue among the early jurists is Imam al-Shafi'i, followed by Imam Malik in *al-Mudawwanah*. Imam al-Shafi'i says in clear Arabic, and he is a Qurayshi as is well known: "If one enters the mosque congregation and finds that the imam has already prayed, pray individually. If they pray in congregation, their prayer is permissible, but I dislike it for them, because it was not the practice of the Salaf." He said: "If there is a mosque on the side of the road that has no regular imam and no regular mu'adhdhin, it is permissible for them to pray a second congregation." Then he confirms his first statement by saying: "And we have preserved that a group of the Companions of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) missed the prayer with the congregation, so they prayed individually, although they were able to gather again, but they did not do so, because they disliked gathering in the mosque twice." This is a text from Imam al-Shafi'i on the issue, both negatively and positively: negatively, the second congregation is not prescribed; positively, if they do it, their prayer is valid, but there is no virtue in the congregation; rather, it is disliked.
The questioner : Yes, I do.
The questioner : ... .
The Shaykh: We do not have a text regarding prohibition. We say: it is disliked, and that is all.
The questioner: Is it better to pray individually?
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner: Is it better to pray individually?
The Shaykh: Individually, without a doubt. But this does not mean that we become lazy about the congregational prayer. No, this must make us strive to perform the prayer with the congregation. Because this congregational prayer is not, either, a recommended practice (sunnah) as many people suppose. Rather, the congregational prayer is obligatory, like the prayer itself. The congregational prayer is obligatory like the prayer. Because Allah (Mighty and Majestic) says:
And establish prayer and give zakah and bow with those who bow [in worship and obedience].
وَأَقِيمُوا الصَّلَاةَ وَآتُوا الزَّكَاةَ وَارْكَعُوا مَعَ الرَّاكِعِينَand bow with those who bow [in worship and obedience].
وَارْكَعُوا مَعَ الرَّاكِعِينَAnd establish the prayer.
وَأَقِيمُوا الصَّلَاةَAnd establish the prayer.
وَأَقِيمُوا الصَّلَاةَAnd give the zakah.
وَآتُوا الزَّكَاةَand bow with those who bow [in worship and obedience].
وَارْكَعُوا مَعَ الرَّاكِعِينَAnd establish the prayer.
وَأَقِيمُوا الصَّلَاةَand bow with those who bow [in worship and obedience].
وَارْكَعُوا مَعَ الرَّاكِعِينَAnd establish the prayer.
وَأَقِيمُوا الصَّلَاةَEstablish prayer
أَقِيمُوا الصَّلَاةَand bow with those who bow [in worship and obedience].
وَارْكَعُوا مَعَ الرَّاكِعِينَThe questioner: He—Allah knows best—al-Shafi'i says his word: the second or third congregation, striving for the congregation...
The Shaykh: Yes, that is it, it is so.
The questioner : That is correct.
The Shaykh: Yes.
Source
www.al-albany.com
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.