Abu Dawud

539. Commentary:
It is understood from this that sometimes the iqamah would be pronounced even before the arrival of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, while he would be informed beforehand about the time of the congregation.

Hadith Footnote: Explanation:
Imam Bukhari rahimahullah, out of caution, expressed doubt as to whether this hadith was narrated by Abu Qatadah’s son, Abdullah, directly from his father (as a connected [mawsul] narration), or whether Abdullah narrated it as a disconnected (mursal) narration. Perhaps he wrote this hadith in this book from his memory, which is why he remained uncertain. However, Isma‘ili has recorded it with the same chain, and in that there is no doubt: Abdullah narrated it from Abu Qatadah as a connected narration. From many such statements, it is clear that Imam Bukhari rahimahullah exercised extreme caution in the narration of hadith. Then, woe to those who deny authentic, elevated (marfu‘) ahadith.
May Allah guide them.

Hadith Commentary:
(1)
Imam Bukhari rahimahullah narrated this hadith in the Book of Adhan (Hadith no. 638) and titled it with the following words:
(Chapter: One should not stand for prayer hastily, rather he should stand for it with calmness and dignity).
He stated, "One should not stand for prayer in haste, rather he should stand for it with tranquility and dignity." There, the mentioned narration was presented as corroborative evidence.
At this place, the point of reference is the words: "wa 'alaykum as-sakinah" (and upon you is calmness).
Allamah Ibn Rashid rahimahullah says:
"The subtlety in this prohibitive command is that if the followers (muqtadis) stand for prayer in haste, they will begin the prayer in that very state. By doing so, the form of dignity and tranquility required for prayer will be compromised, which is contrary to the objectives of prayer."
(2)
The relevance of the hadith to the chapter heading also becomes clear: that running to attend Jumu'ah is prohibited, because doing so is contrary to dignity and tranquility.
(Fath al-Bari: 2/504)

Hadith Commentary:
There are several opinions on this issue.
According to Imam Shafi‘i rahimahullah, the followers should stand up after the takbir has ended. Imam Malik rahimahullah says they should stand as soon as the takbir begins. Imam Abu Hanifah rahimahullah says that when the mu’adhdhin says "Hayya ‘ala al-salah," and when the mu’adhdhin says "Qad qamati al-salah," then the imam should begin the prayer. Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal rahimahullah states that one should stand at "Hayya ‘ala al-salah." Imam Bukhari rahimahullah, by bringing the hadith in the chapter, indicated that when the imam is not in the mosque, the followers should remain seated, and when they see the imam, then they should stand for the prayer.

Hadith Commentary:
When should people stand up for the congregational prayer? There is a difference of opinion among the early scholars (mutaqaddimin) regarding this. This is why Imam Bukhari rahimahullah did not establish a decisive chapter heading on this issue.

Some scholars are of the view that the followers (muqtadis) should stand up after the iqamah has finished, while some jurists (fuqaha) say that the followers should stand up for prayer at the very beginning of the iqamah.

Similarly, some are of the opinion that one should stand up at the call of "hayya 'ala as-salah," and some at the call of "qad qamatis salah."

The refined position on the issue is that if the imam is outside the mosque, the followers should stand up for forming the rows (saff bandi) when he enters the mosque. If he is inside the mosque, then when he stands up from his place for the congregation, the followers should also stand up at that time.

The apparent words of the mentioned hadith indicate that the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam would still be in his house when the iqamah for prayer was pronounced. However, in another hadith, it is mentioned that Bilal radi Allahu anhu would not pronounce the takbir (iqamah) until the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam had come out of his house.

These two narrations have been reconciled in this way: Bilal radi Allahu anhu would wait for the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam to come out of his house. When the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam came into Bilal's view, he would begin to pronounce the iqamah, while the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam was often out of sight of the people. When the people saw him, they would stand up for prayer, and then the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam would not come to the prayer mat (musalla) for the congregation until the people had straightened their rows.

(Fath al-Bari: 2/185)

Benefits:

➊ This hadith indicates that Bilal radi Allahu anhu would sometimes pronounce the iqamah (call to commence prayer) when the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam had not yet arrived at the mosque. This raises the question: how could Bilal radi Allahu anhu give the iqamah beforehand? The answer is that Bilal radi Allahu anhu would pay special attention to the arrival of the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. He would estimate his arrival from the movement of the door or curtain, from his coughing, or from his usual time of arrival. Therefore, he would pronounce the iqamah. However, the Prophet forbade the followers (muqtadis) from standing until they saw him, because sometimes the one giving the iqamah may do so, but during it, the imam may encounter an excuse and be prevented from coming. Therefore, he said: "Do not stand until you see me." The summary of this is that when the imam is not present in the mosque, the followers should not stand until he arrives and they see him.

➋ As for the matter that if the imam is present in the mosque, at what point during the iqamah should the people stand, there are differing opinions among the scholars. Some have said that they should stand when the iqamah is completed. Some have said that they should stand when the mu’adhdhin says «اللهُ أَكْبَرُ». Some have said to stand at «حَيَّ عَلَى الصَّلَاةِ», and when the mu’adhdhin says «قَدْ قَامَتِ الصَّلَاةُ», the imam should say «الله أكبر» and begin the prayer. However, in this case, the imam does not get the opportunity to straighten the rows. The reality is that no specific limit has been set in the hadith regarding this, so there is flexibility in the matter. Whether one stands at the beginning of the iqamah, in the middle, or at the end, all are permissible, because the Shari’ah has not specified any particular limit for this.

➌ In Sahih al-Bukhari itself, in a nearby chapter (24), there is a hadith from Abu Hurayrah radi Allahu anhu that the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam came out when the iqamah had already been pronounced and the rows had been straightened, then he came and stood in his place. In [ابو داؤد 541], it is narrated from him that the iqamah for prayer would be given for the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, and people would take their places before his arrival. The reconciliation between these ahadith of Abu Hurayrah radi Allahu anhu and the hadith of Abu Qatadah radi Allahu anhu is that in the hadith of Abu Qatadah radi Allahu anhu, the prohibition of standing before the Prophet’s arrival was precisely because people used to stand early. When he forbade it, it is evident that it cannot be expected from the Companions that, despite the prohibition, they would complete the rows before seeing him.

When should one stand for congregational prayer?

Question:

Maulana Muhammad Munir Sialkoti hafizahullah has stated:

“And regarding the time for the followers (muqtadis) to stand at the time of the iqamah, there is no fixed time. There is a narration from Anas radi Allahu anhu that he would stand at the time of ‘qad qamatis salah’. Sa’id ibn al-Musayyib rahimahullah held the view that one should stand as soon as the mu’adhdhin says ‘Allahu Akbar’. Imam Abu Hanifah rahimahullah held that one should stand at the words ‘hayya ‘ala al-falah’, and Imam Malik rahimahullah left it to the ability of the people, that whoever is able to stand, should stand, because among them there may be someone weak and someone heavy (slow). And the time for standing is also not fixed. The Hanabilah hold that one should stand at ‘qad qamatis salah’, and the Shafi’iyyah hold that one should stand at the end (of the iqamah). (Fath al-Bari 2/120, al-Fiqh ‘ala al-Madhahib al-Arba’ah 1/325) And apparently, the statement of Imam Malik rahimahullah is closest to the Sunnah.”
(Fiqh al-Salah, vol. 2, p. 179)

Please clarify the preferred (rajih) opinion: should the worshippers (muqtadis) stand before the iqamah (for forming rows), or after the iqamah? (A questioner)

The Answer:

The investigation of the narrations mentioned in the question, in order, is as follows:

➊ Hafiz Ibn Hajar al-‘Asqalani rahimahullah has transmitted the athar attributed to Sayyiduna Anas ibn Malik radi Allahu anhu from Imam Ibn al-Mundhir and others. (Fath al-Bari 2/120 under hadith 637)

In Imam Ibn al-Mundhir’s book al-Awsat, this athar is present with the following chain and text:

“And they narrated to us from al-Hasan ibn ‘Isa, who said: Ibn al-Mubarak informed us, who said: Abu Ya’la informed us, who said: I saw Anas ibn Malik, when it was said: ‘qad qamatis salah’, he would leap up and stand.”

(4/166 no. 1958, another edition 4/187 no. 1947)

In this narration, the narrators of “and they narrated to us” are unknown, thus this chain is weak.

And the “others” are also unknown; in al-Sunan al-Kubra (2/21) this athar is without a chain, but Hafiz Ibn ‘Abd al-Barr has narrated it with his chain from the book of Abu Bakr al-Athram: “And ‘Uthman ibn Abi Shaybah narrated to us, who said: Ibn al-Mubarak narrated to us from Abu Ya’la, who said: I saw Anas ibn Malik, when it was said: ‘qad qamatis salah’, he would stand and leap up.” (al-Tamhid, vol. 9, p. 193; another edition vol. 3, p. 102)

There is a concern in Ibn ‘Abd al-Barr’s chain up to al-Athram, and even if this is established from Imam Ibn al-Mubarak, then it should be noted that its narrator, Abu Ya’la Salamah ibn Wardan al-Laythi al-Madani, is weak. (See Taqrib al-Tahdhib: 2514)

In summary, this narration attributed to Sayyiduna Anas radi Allahu anhu is weak.

➋ The narration attributed to Imam Sa’id ibn al-Musayyib ibn Hazn rahimahullah is in al-Tamhid (by Ibn ‘Abd al-Barr) (vol. 9, p. 193; another edition 3/102).

Its chain is weak for several reasons, for example, Kulthum ibn Ziyad al-Muharibi, the judge of Damascus, is considered weak by the majority. (See Lisan al-Mizan with my marginal notes 4/489; another edition 5/557)

➌ The statement attributed to Imam Abu Hanifah is not established from him, and the reason for its non-establishment is that its narrator, Ibn Farqad (the author of Kitab al-Asl 1/18-19), is himself considered weak and criticized by the majority of hadith scholars.

➍ The statement of Imam Malik rahimahullah is present in his famous book al-Muwatta’ of Imam Malik (narration of Yahya 1/71, narration of Abu Mus’ab al-Zuhri: 186).

Hafiz Ibn Hajar has written:

“And the majority are of the view that if the imam is present with them in the mosque, they should not stand until the iqamah is finished.”
(Fath al-Bari 2/120)

Imam al-Tirmidhi said:

“And some of them said: If the imam is in the mosque and the prayer is established, then they should stand when the mu’adhdhin says: ‘qad qamatis salah’, and this is the statement of Ibn al-Mubarak.”
(Sunan al-Tirmidhi: 592)

The statements of ‘Abdullah ibn al-Mubarak rahimahullah that Imam al-Tirmidhi has transmitted in Sunan al-Tirmidhi, he has mentioned their authentic chains in his book al-‘Ilal (al-Saghir). (See p. 1, another edition p. 889, published by Darussalam with Sunan al-Tirmidhi)

Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal said:

If the imam is in the mosque, then the people should stand when he (the one giving the iqamah) says ‘qad qamatis salah’. Imam Ishaq ibn Rahuyah has fully supported this.

(Masa’il Ahmad wa Ishaq, narration of Ishaq ibn Mansur al-Kawsaj 1/127-128, no. 179)

Imam Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn Ibrahim ibn al-Mundhir al-Naysaburi rahimahullah said:

“If the imam is with them in the mosque, they should stand when he stands, and if they are waiting for him to come out and arrive, they should stand when they see him, and they should not stand until they see him, due to the hadith of Abu Qatadah (radi Allahu anhu)…”

(al-Awsat, new edition, vol. 4, p. 188)

Considering these narrations, it is submitted that when the iqamah is said, i.e., when the words ‘qad qamatis salah’ are recited, the people should stand to pray, and if they stand together with the imam or the one giving the iqamah (provided the imam is present in the mosque), then this is also permissible. And Allah knows best.

For the original article, see Tawdhih al-Ahkam (vol. 3, pp. 97–100) by Shaykh Hafiz Zubair Ali Zai rahimahullah.

688. Commentary: Sometimes it would happen that the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) would say to the mu’adhdhin (caller to prayer), “You give the iqamah (second call to prayer), I am coming.” The mu’adhdhin would estimate that now the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) is coming, so he would give the iqamah, but the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) would be delayed for a little while. The Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) realized that this would cause unnecessary hardship to the people, so he forbade them from standing up until he himself arrived. From this, the author (rahimahullah) has deduced that since standing up is to be done upon seeing the imam, what is the benefit of giving the iqamah beforehand? Therefore, the iqamah should be given upon seeing the imam coming, and this is the correct view. Giving the iqamah too early causes difficulties. The matter of Allah’s Messenger (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) was something different.

791. Commentary: At times during the era of the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam), it would happen that Bilal (radi Allahu anhu) would inform him of the time for prayer, so he (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) would say: "You give the iqamah (call to commence prayer), I am coming." He (Bilal) would come and give the iqamah. Sometimes, the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) would be delayed at home, so in order to prevent people from standing uselessly, this instruction was given. Consequently, it is understood that the iqamah can be given, with the imam's permission, even before his arrival.

Benefit:
This hadith proves that those performing prayer should wait for the imam; when he arrives at the mosque and becomes visible, then the iqamah should be started. If the imam is already sitting in the mosque, then when the time for the congregation arrives, the iqamah should be pronounced at that time.