Explanation of the Hadith: “When the prayer is established, there is no prayer except the obligatory one”

Q: We ask you, may Allah reward you, for a simple explanation of the hadith: .

A: The hadith is to be understood according to its apparent meaning. It was narrated by Muslim in *Sahih Muslim*. The meaning of is: when the mu'adhdhin begins the iqamah, the person who is praying must cut off his voluntary prayer, whether it is a rawatib prayer or the greeting of the mosque. He cuts it off and devotes himself to preparing to enter the obligatory prayer.
He is not permitted to enter into a new prayer after the iqamah has been called. Rather, he must cut off the prayer he is in and refrain from entering a new prayer, because the obligatory prayer is more important.
This is the meaning of this authentic hadith, according to the most correct of the scholars’ opinions.
Some scholars said: he should complete it briefly and not cut it off. They argue with the saying of Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He: [Surat Muhammad: 33].
But the one who says: he should cut it off—and this is the correct opinion, as mentioned earlier—answers regarding the noble verse by saying that the verse is general, while this case is specific. The specific takes precedence over the general and does not contradict it. This is a noble principle known among the scholars, and its examples are numerous.
It was also said: the intended meaning of the mentioned verse—which is the saying of Allah the Exalted: —is the prohibition of invalidating it through apostasy, and this is not apostasy.
In any case, the verse is general, and cutting off the prayer one is in when the iqamah is called is a specific proof for it. The specific specifies the general and does not contradict it, but overrides it. This is what we believe and what we issue as a ruling: if the person praying is in a voluntary prayer and the iqamah is called, he cuts it off and does not complete it, except if he is in its final part, having already bowed the second bowing, or is in prostration, or is in the tashahhud. In that case, he completes it, because the minimum of a prayer is one rak'ah, and only the minimum of it remains. Completing it does not contradict the mentioned hadith. This is the best course of action, and it does not contradict this authentic hadith.