Congregation

Praying in congregation

Praying in congregation in a mosque in which the congregational prayer had already been made:

Abu Sa'id narrates that a man entered the Mosque, and the Prophet s.a.w and his companions had already prayed. The Prophet sallallahu alehi wasallam said: " Who will give charity to him by praying with him." So a man from the people stood and prayed with him . This is related by Ahmad , Abu Dawud and At-Tirmidhi who calls it hasan. Ibn Abi Shaibah relates that it was Abu Bakr who stood and prayed with the man. At-Tirmidhi uses this hadith as proof that a group can pray in congregation in a mosque in which the congregational prayer had already been made. He says that this is the opinion of Ahmad and Ishaq. Other scholars say that they should each pray individually and this is the opinion of Sufyan, Ibn al-Mubarak and ash-Shaf'i.

Imam Shafii said in his Umm: "I do not allow anyone who is able to attend the congregational prayer to miss it, unless they have an excuse. [Shafii, al-Umm, 1.154]

Lining-up

Utmost care has to be exercised to keep the rows straight and balanced.

The holy Prophet has instructed: "Keep your rows straight and balanced in the prayer, for proper alignment is a necessary condition of observing the prayer well." (Bukhari, Muslim)

"The holy Prophet straightened our rows in a manner as if he would set arrows straight with their help, till he realized that we understood and appreciated the due importance of proper alignment. One day he came out and was about to pronounce the takbir for prayer when he saw a man with his chest protruding a little from the row. He said: 'Servants of Allah! Keep your rows straight and balanced, otherwise Allah might turn your hearts one against the other." (Muslim)

The front rows should be filled and completed first.

The people possessing deep knowledge and understanding of religion should stand close to the Imam behind him, then those who are next to them in knowledge and understanding.

The front rows behind the Imam should consist of men, then of children, and then of women at the rear.

The followers should stand behind the Imam in a balanced way, equally on the right and left, keeping him in the middle and front.

If there is a single follower, whether an adult male or a boy, he should stand on the right of the Imam with his heels a little behind the Imam's.

It is undesirable for a single follower to stand behind the Imam in a separate row.

If the followers are more than one, they should invariably stand behind the Imam; it is undesirable for two or more followers to stand beside the Imam, on his right or left.

If at the commencement of the Prayer, there is only one follower and later on one or more followers join in, then they should either pull the first follower back in the row, or the Imam should step forward and let the followers make the row behind him.

If the front rows are complete and there is no room for a latecomer, he should avoid standing alone behind but should pull a person back from the front row and make a separate row at the rear.

If there is room for a latecomer to stand in the front row, it is undesirable for him to stand alone at the rear.