Entering the mosque after the prayer has ended and another congregation is praying: Is it permissible for me to convert this obligatory prayer into a voluntary one?
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The questioner : Sometimes I enter the mosque and find that they have finished or completed the prayer, and while they are praying, another congregation comes. Is it permissible for me to convert this obligatory prayer into a voluntary one?
The Shaykh : Yes, it is permissible for a person who has started praying alone and then a congregation arrives to convert the prayer he was performing into a voluntary one and complete it, then join the congregation. He also has the option to stop it immediately once the people arrive and establish the congregation. So he has the choice. In fact, there is a third option: to continue his prayer and not stop it. Thus, the options are three: to convert it to a voluntary prayer, complete it briefly, and join them; to stop it and then join them; or to continue his prayer, because when he started it, he was excused, so he is not required to repeat it.
The questioner : Very well.
The Shaykh : Yes.
The Shaykh : Yes, it is permissible for a person who has started praying alone and then a congregation arrives to convert the prayer he was performing into a voluntary one and complete it, then join the congregation. He also has the option to stop it immediately once the people arrive and establish the congregation. So he has the choice. In fact, there is a third option: to continue his prayer and not stop it. Thus, the options are three: to convert it to a voluntary prayer, complete it briefly, and join them; to stop it and then join them; or to continue his prayer, because when he started it, he was excused, so he is not required to repeat it.
The questioner : Very well.
The Shaykh : Yes.