How to Catch Up with the Congregational Prayer

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Question:
By what means does one catch up with the congregational prayer?

Answer:
By one unit of prayer, as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:

Whoever catches a raka of the prayer has caught the prayer.

من أدرك ركعة من الصلاة فقد أدرك الصلاة

Muwatta Malik 1:15

. And if one misses the last unit of prayer, he misses the virtue of the congregation, unless he is excused by having been eager to attend but prevented by an obstacle, such as illness, or an incident on the road that stopped him, or an incident of urination or defecation that required him to relieve himself. In that case, he has the virtue of the congregation because he is excused; he has the virtue of the congregation even if he missed the congregation, as in the authentic hadith where he (peace and blessings be upon him) said:

Indeed, when a servant falls ill or travels, Allah writes for him what he used to do while he was healthy and resident.

إن العبد إذا مرض أو سافر كتب الله له ما كان يعمله وهو صحيح مقيم

, narrated by al-Bukhari in the Sahih. This means: he intended the good deed, were it not for the travel and were it not for the illness. Likewise, the authentic hadith where he (peace and blessings be upon him) said regarding the expedition to Tabuk:

Indeed, there are people in Madinah who, whenever you travel through a valley or cross a ravine, they are with you—and in another wording: they share in the reward with you. They said: O Messenger of Allah! And they are in Madinah? He said: They are in Madinah; an excuse held them back.

إن في المدينة أقوامًا ما سرتم واديًا ولا قطعتم شعبًا إلا وهم معكم، -وفي اللفظ الآخر: إلا شركوكم في الأجر- قالوا: يا رسول الله! وهم في المدينة؟ قال: وهم في المدينة، حبسهم العذر

. Yes.

The presenter: May Allah reward you with good.

Source binbaz.org.sa

The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.

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