The Shaykh’s explanation of the ruling on repeating the congregational prayer in the same mosque.
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The Shaykh : It is reported in the Musannaf of Ibn Abi Shaybah, narrated from al-Hasan al-Basri (may Allah have mercy on him), that he said: “When the Companions of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) entered the mosque and found that the imam had already prayed, they prayed individually.” The Imam al-Shafi'i (may Allah have mercy on him) referred to this narration, and he elaborated on this issue in a manner that we hardly find in any other book by the early scholars. He said in the first volume of his book al-Umm: “If a group enters the mosque and finds that the imam has already prayed, they should pray individually. If they pray in congregation, their prayer is valid, but I dislike it because it was not the practice of the Salaf. They were capable of gathering again, but they did not do so because they disliked gathering in a mosque twice.” This general report from al-Hasan al-Basri regarding the noble Companions, that they did not repeat the congregational prayer in the mosque, gives us a picture of the life they lived in their mosques with regard to congregational prayer. It shows that they were keen to maintain the first congregation. If they missed it for some excuse, let alone without an excuse, they would pray individually.
This is also indicated by marfu' hadiths of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), though with some degree of deduction and reflection. Among them is the hadith of Abu Hurayrah, which al-Bukhari and Muslim included in their Sahihs. He said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: meaning the 'Isha' prayer.
This hadith contains a clear indication of the prohibition of missing the congregational prayer, because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) intended to burn the houses of those who missed it. This is clear, and we have no further discussion on it. The discussion here concerns what we are dealing with, namely repeating the congregational prayer. What is the connection between this hadith and the non-prescription of repeating the congregation? Let us imagine the actual situation today in many mosques of the Muslims, with its repetition and multiplication. Which congregation would this explicit threat in the hadith fall upon if we assume there are many congregations? The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) says: If the Messenger (peace be upon him) actually carried out the burning and went to the houses of those who missed the congregation and intended to burn them, what would this be, O Messenger of Allah? You are delaying the congregational prayer. No, O Messenger of Allah, we are praying with the second congregation, with the third, with the fiftieth. Would the argument of the Messenger at that time hold against these delinquents, or would the opposite be the case?
If we observe this, we understand that this Prophetic argument does not hold against those who miss the congregational prayer unless we keep in mind that reality which al-Hasan al-Basri first informed us of, and which the Imam al-Shafi'i then supported in his previous statement. Otherwise, the argument would be invalidated, and God forbid that someone say: O Messenger of Allah, if we missed the prayer with you, we will pray, for example, with Mu'adh in his mosque, or with Ubayy, or with so-and-so, assuming they were repeating the congregation in the mosque as is the case today in large and small mosques. Or it could be said that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) says to them: It is true that there are many congregations, but I am concerned with the first congregation among all the congregations. This is also possible for someone to say. Whether it is the first possibility or the second, the argument holds that when a Muslim hears the call of Allah saying: “Hasten to prayer, hasten to success,” it means the first congregation, because the Messenger (may the prayers and peace of Allah be upon him) intended to burn the houses of those who missed it.
Therefore, the first congregation is the one whose attendance is obligatory, not the subsequent congregations, even if we hypothetically concede that they are permissible. But God forbid that we imagine this. The first congregation is obligatory, and the congregations after it are permissible. These are two opposites that cannot coexist, because saying that the congregations following the first are permissible contradicts saying that the first congregation is obligatory. Because believing in the legitimacy of the second congregation and those after it leads, as they say today, automatically to laxity regarding the first congregation. The greatest example of this, in terms of reality and transmission, is that today Muslims do not delay the Friday prayer. Whoever is determined to pray the Friday prayer does not delay it. Why? Because it has settled in his mind and he believes in his knowledge that there is no Friday prayer after the first one. Therefore, he is keen, even if he is lax in the five daily prayers, to not miss the Friday prayer at all, because nothing has arisen in him that would lead him to be negligent about Friday, because he knows that there is no Friday prayer except one.
This is evidence from reality that shows the effect of a wrong opinion on its holder. When the permissibility of the second congregation and those after it became established in the opinion of many people, it diverted them from caring to pray with the first congregation.
Whereas, when such an error did not arise in their minds regarding the Friday prayer, they did not have this wrong effect, and all of them pray the Friday prayer at its time. This is from the perspective of reality.
This is also indicated by marfu' hadiths of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), though with some degree of deduction and reflection. Among them is the hadith of Abu Hurayrah, which al-Bukhari and Muslim included in their Sahihs. He said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
I intended to order a man to lead the people in prayer, then order men to gather firewood, then go to a people who claim to pray with the congregation and burn their houses. By Him in whose hand is the soul of Muhammad, if one of them knew that he would find two good saddlebags in the mosque, he would attend it.
لقد هممت أن آمر رجلا فيصلي بالناس ثم آمر رجالا فيحطبوا حطبا ثم أخالف إلى أناس يدعون الصلاة مع الجماعة فأحرِّق عليهم بيوتهم والذي نفس محمد بيده لو يعلم أحدهم أنه يجد في المسجد مرماتين حسنتين لشهدهاThis hadith contains a clear indication of the prohibition of missing the congregational prayer, because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) intended to burn the houses of those who missed it. This is clear, and we have no further discussion on it. The discussion here concerns what we are dealing with, namely repeating the congregational prayer. What is the connection between this hadith and the non-prescription of repeating the congregation? Let us imagine the actual situation today in many mosques of the Muslims, with its repetition and multiplication. Which congregation would this explicit threat in the hadith fall upon if we assume there are many congregations? The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) says:
I intended—of course, this is a summary of the hadith—to burn the houses of those who miss the congregational prayer.
لقد هممت - طبعا تلخيص الحديث - أن أحرّق بيوت المتخلفين عن صلاة الجماعةIf we observe this, we understand that this Prophetic argument does not hold against those who miss the congregational prayer unless we keep in mind that reality which al-Hasan al-Basri first informed us of, and which the Imam al-Shafi'i then supported in his previous statement. Otherwise, the argument would be invalidated, and God forbid that someone say: O Messenger of Allah, if we missed the prayer with you, we will pray, for example, with Mu'adh in his mosque, or with Ubayy, or with so-and-so, assuming they were repeating the congregation in the mosque as is the case today in large and small mosques. Or it could be said that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) says to them: It is true that there are many congregations, but I am concerned with the first congregation among all the congregations. This is also possible for someone to say. Whether it is the first possibility or the second, the argument holds that when a Muslim hears the call of Allah saying: “Hasten to prayer, hasten to success,” it means the first congregation, because the Messenger (may the prayers and peace of Allah be upon him) intended to burn the houses of those who missed it.
Therefore, the first congregation is the one whose attendance is obligatory, not the subsequent congregations, even if we hypothetically concede that they are permissible. But God forbid that we imagine this. The first congregation is obligatory, and the congregations after it are permissible. These are two opposites that cannot coexist, because saying that the congregations following the first are permissible contradicts saying that the first congregation is obligatory. Because believing in the legitimacy of the second congregation and those after it leads, as they say today, automatically to laxity regarding the first congregation. The greatest example of this, in terms of reality and transmission, is that today Muslims do not delay the Friday prayer. Whoever is determined to pray the Friday prayer does not delay it. Why? Because it has settled in his mind and he believes in his knowledge that there is no Friday prayer after the first one. Therefore, he is keen, even if he is lax in the five daily prayers, to not miss the Friday prayer at all, because nothing has arisen in him that would lead him to be negligent about Friday, because he knows that there is no Friday prayer except one.
This is evidence from reality that shows the effect of a wrong opinion on its holder. When the permissibility of the second congregation and those after it became established in the opinion of many people, it diverted them from caring to pray with the first congregation.
Whereas, when such an error did not arise in their minds regarding the Friday prayer, they did not have this wrong effect, and all of them pray the Friday prayer at its time. This is from the perspective of reality.