Is it permissible for one who arrives after the imam has concluded the prayer to follow a latecomer?

Eid Abbasi : Is it permissible for a Muslim who arrives at the mosque late, after the imam has concluded the prayer, to follow another person who has stood up to complete his prayer—meaning a latecomer? And is there any imam who permits this?

The Shaykh : Yes, there are those who say that following such a person is permissible, but we see that it is like a second congregation resumed after the first congregation. Our reason for this is two matters. The first matter is that this was not transmitted from the righteous Salaf, just as the second congregation was not transmitted from them. The other proof—and it is undoubtedly stronger because it is positive—is the hadith of al-Mughirah ibn Shu'bah in the two Sahihs. Its summary is that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was on a journey, so at Fajr he went out to relieve himself and perform wudu. His companions were waiting for him to lead them in the Fajr prayer. It appears that he was delayed according to their custom, so they thought that something had delayed him. They appointed Abd al-Rahman ibn Awf to lead them in prayer. Al-Mughirah was with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), where he prepared the wudu for him—the water used for wudu—and then poured the water over him. He was wearing leather socks, so al-Mughirah intended to remove them, but he (peace be upon him) said: ; meaning that he had put on the leather socks while in a state of purity.
...which they had prepared for prayer while they were on a journey. Here is a point that must be clarified: it is the attention of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) to the congregational prayer and to teaching about a place and considering it a place of prayer like a mosque, even while on a journey. Perhaps they would stay there for a day or less than a day, so they would designate a place and orient it toward the qiblah. So whoever wants to pray there a prayer knows the qiblah by defining and enclosing this place with a few stones.
So there, when they waited for him in this mosque—I say this because it may be confusing to some that there is a congregation on a journey, and it comes in the hadith that they waited for him in the mosque. What is the mosque? It is the temporary mosque. When the Messenger (peace be upon him) was delayed from them for the aforementioned reason, Abd al-Rahman prayed with them. Then, after the Messenger (peace be upon him) completed his wudu, he and his companion al-Mughirah headed toward the mosque. When he saw the people in prayer, al-Mughirah intended to alert the imam to the arrival of the true imam, who is the Messenger (peace be upon him). He gestured to him to let them be, then he followed Abd al-Rahman ibn Awf, and (peace and blessings be upon him) and al-Mughirah did the same. Then Abd al-Rahman concluded the prayer, so he (peace be upon him) stood up to pray what he had missed, which was one rak'ah, as the Fajr prayer is two rak'ahs... After he concluded the prayer, the people turned and saw that the imam had become a follower. The matter was great for them, and he saw that in their faces. So he said to them, reassuring them and approving of their action: . This contains very great meanings, among them reassuring the Muslim that if he does good, and among them removing emotional matters and replacing them with legal matters; that the official imam was delayed, and there is no obstacle to appointing someone more deserving to be imam, without causing hardship for the people. My brother, it will not become a defect if he comes and finds that we have preceded him in prayer or something similar. No, the Messenger (peace be upon him) said to them: .
Similarly, the opposite is not permissible; if there is a system in a mosque where they are delayed five minutes, ten minutes from the adhan, and one person comes to disrupt the imam and step forward, this matter is not permissible. The important thing is that when he (peace be upon him) said to them: , they were reassured at that time.
The point is: it did not come in this hadith or in others that al-Mughirah ibn Shu'bah followed the Messenger (peace be upon him) in this rak'ah that had been missed by them. From here we say: whoever comes to the mosque, or if two people arrive late at the mosque and are preceded by one rak'ah or more, each of them prays by himself. This is how the practice has been, and this is sufficient, and praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds.