Question: After a congregation has been held, can those who missed it arrange a second congregation? Some people consider it disliked.
Answer: The permissibility of holding two congregations in the same mosque is established in authentic hadiths, and the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them), the great Followers, jurists, and hadith scholars (may Allah have mercy on them) practiced this.
1: It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Saeed Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him):
ان رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم ابصر رجلا يصلي وحده، فقال : “” الا رجل يتصدق على هذا فيصلي معه
“The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) saw a man praying alone, so he said: ‘Is there no one to give charity for him and pray with him?'”
In one narration, the words are:
ايكم يتجر على هذا “”، فقام رجل فصلى معه
“Which one of you will share the reward with him?” A man stood up and prayed with him.
Allama Zailai Hanafi (may Allah have mercy on him) wrote in “Nasb al-Rayah” and Allama Suyuti (may Allah have mercy on him) wrote in “Qut al-Mughtadhi”: “The man who stood and prayed with him was Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him).”
From this hadith, it is understood that a second congregation in the same mosque is permissible, and if a person comes to the mosque after the congregation has ended, it is correct, lawful, and permissible for him to pray again in congregation with someone else. Your previous statement supports this.
Sayyiduna Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) also understood this hadith in the same way and was a proponent and doer of it. Imam Bukhari (may Allah have mercy on him) wrote in Sahih Bukhari:
جآء أنس رضى الله عنه إلى المسجد قد صلٰي فيه فأذن واقام وصلٰي جماعة
“Sayyiduna Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) came to the mosque after the congregation had ended, so he called the adhan and iqamah and prayed in congregation.”
Imam Baghawi (may Allah have mercy on him) wrote regarding the previous hadith of Abu Saeed Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him):
وَفِيْهِ دَلِيْلٌ عَلٰي أَنَّهُ يَجُوْزُ لِمَنْ صَلّٰي فِيْ جَمَاعَةٍ أَنْ يُّصَلِّيَهَا ثَانِيًا مَعَ جَمَاعَةٍ آخَرِيْنَ وَأَنَّهُ يَجُوْزُ اِقَامَةُ الْجَمَاعَةِ فِيْ مَسْجِدٍ مَرَّتَيْنِ وَهُوَ قَوْلُ غَيْرِ وَاحِدٍ مِّنَ الصَّحَابَةِ وَالتَّابِعِيْنَ
“This hadith indicates that if a person has prayed once in congregation, it is permissible for him to pray a second time with other people. Similarly, establishing a second congregation in the mosque is also permissible. This is the opinion of many Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) and great Followers (may Allah have mercy on them).”
Imam Ibn Qudamah (may Allah have mercy on him) states:
ولا يكره اعادة الجماعة فى المسجد ومعناه أنه صلٰي امام الحي وحضرها جماعة اخري استجب لهم ان يصلو ا جماعة و هذا قول ابن مسعود و عطاء و الحسن و النخعي و قتادة و اسحاق
“Holding a second congregation in one mosque is not disliked. This means that when the imam of the neighborhood has led the prayer and a second congregation has gathered, it is recommended for them to pray with the congregation. This is the opinion of Abdullah ibn Mas’ud (may Allah be pleased with him), Ata, Nakha’i, Qatadah, and Ishaq ibn Rahwayh (may Allah have mercy on them).”
Then Imam Ibn Qudamah (may Allah have mercy on him) also mentioned the hadith of Abu Saeed Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him).
عن أبى هريرة رضى الله عنه عن النبى صلى الله عليه وسلم قال فضل صلاة الجميع علٰي صلاة الواحد خمس وعشرون درجة
“It is narrated from Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: ‘The prayer in congregation is twenty-five times superior to the prayer of a person praying alone.'”
This hadith, in its general meaning, includes both the first and second congregations, indicating that if a person misses the first congregation, he will still receive the mentioned virtue if he prays with the second congregation.
3: عن الجعد أبى عثمان قال مر بنا أنس بن مالك رضى الله عنه فى مسجد بني ثعلبة فقال اصليتم ؟ قال : قلنا نعم وذاك صلاة الصبح فأمر رجلا فأذن وأقام ثم صلٰي بأصحابه
“It is narrated from Abu Uthman al-Ja’d that when Anas ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) passed by us in the mosque of Banu Thalabah, he asked: ‘Have you prayed?’ I said: ‘Yes!’ and it was the morning prayer. He ordered a man who called the adhan and iqamah and then led his companions in prayer.”
4: ان ابن مسعود رضى الله عنه دخل المسجد وقد صلوا فجمع بعلقمة ومسروق والأسود
“Sayyiduna Abdullah ibn Mas’ud (may Allah be pleased with him) entered the mosque after the people had prayed, so he led Alqamah, Masruq, and Aswad in congregation.”
From the above explicit hadiths and reports, it is clear that holding a second congregation in the mosque is permissible and correct without dislike, and this was the stance of many Companions (may Allah be pleased with them).
Arguments of those who consider the second congregation disliked:
It is narrated from Hazrat Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him):
أن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم اقبل من بعض نواحي المدينة يريد الصلاة فوجد الناس قد صلوا فانصرف الٰي منزله فجمع أهله ثم صلٰي بهم
Allama Albani (may Allah have mercy on him) graded its chain as Hasan.
“The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) came from the outskirts of Medina intending to pray. He saw that people had already prayed, so he went to his house, gathered his family, and prayed with them.”
Allama Haithami (may Allah have mercy on him) said that Tabrani narrated this in Al-Mu’jam al-Kabir and Awsat, and its narrators are trustworthy. This is used as evidence that if the second congregation were permissible without dislike, the Prophet (peace be upon him) would not have abandoned the virtue of the mosque, i.e., the virtue of praying in the Prophet’s Mosque is much greater than praying in a general mosque.
The answer to this is as follows:
Firstly: Mawlana Ubaidullah Mubarakpuri (may Allah have mercy on him) says about this:
“This hadith is not a definitive text proving the dislike of the second congregation because it is not certain that the Prophet (peace be upon him) prayed with them at home; it is also possible that he prayed with them in the mosque. His going home was to gather his family, not necessarily to lead them in congregation at home. In this case, this hadith supports the recommendation of a second congregation in a mosque where an imam and mu’adhdhin are appointed. If it is accepted that the Prophet (peace be upon him) led his family in congregation at home, it does not prove the dislike of a second congregation in the mosque; at most, it means that if a person comes to a mosque where the congregation has ended, he should not pray there but go home and pray with his family. In any case, this hadith does not prove that praying with a second congregation in the mosque is disliked. Similarly, this hadith does not indicate the dislike of a lone person praying in that mosque. If this hadith is used to prove the dislike of a second congregation in the mosque, it would also prove that a lone person should not pray there.”
Secondly: Although Allama Albani (may Allah have mercy on him) graded its chain as Hasan, it is questionable because its chain contains Baqiyyah ibn al-Walid, who is a mudallis (one who practices concealment in narration), and he practices tadlis taswiyah, which is a major form of tadlis, and his clarification by continuous hearing is not present.
The second argument of those who consider the second congregation disliked:
عن ابراهيم أن علقمة والاسود اقبلا مع ابن مسعود رضى الله عنه الٰي مسجد فاستقبلهم الناس قد صلوا فرجع بهم الي البيت فجعل احدهما عن يمينه والآخر عن شماله ثم صلٰي بهما
“It is narrated from Ibrahim Nakha’i that Alqamah and Aswad came to the mosque with Abdullah ibn Mas’ud (may Allah be pleased with him), but they found the people had already prayed, so Ibn Mas’ud took them home, placed one on the right and the other on the left, and prayed with them.”
The chain of this narration includes Hammad ibn Abi Sulayman, who was a mixed narrator and a mudallis.
This narration is mu’anna (broken chain) and the narration of a mudallis with ‘an ‘an is weak. Also, before Hammad’s mixing, the narration of three narrators is considered strong evidence. Allama Haithami (may Allah have mercy on him) says:
ولا يقبل من حديث حماد الا ما رواه عنه القدماء شعبة وسفيان الثوري والدستوائي ومن عدا هٰؤلاء رووا عنه بعد الاختلاط
“The narration of Hammad ibn Abi Sulayman is accepted only if it is from before his mixing, i.e., from narrators like Shu’bah, Sufyan al-Thawri, and Hisham Dastawai; those narrations after his mixing are not accepted.”
Almost the same is reported from Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal (may Allah have mercy on him).
Also, this narration was narrated by Mu’ammar from Hammad, so it is not strong evidence. Secondly, in it, Ibn Mas’ud (may Allah be pleased with him) led the two students standing on the right and left in congregation, which is not accepted by the Hanafis, as mentioned by Muhammad ibn Hasan Shaybani (may Allah have mercy on him), a student of Imam Abu Hanifah (may Allah have mercy on him).
Thirdly, the above narration of Ibn Mas’ud (may Allah be pleased with him) leading a second congregation in the mosque is transmitted with an authentic chain. Therefore, from the above clarifications, it is understood that there is no authentic narration proving the dislike of the second congregation; rather, authentic narrations indicate its permissibility, and this permissibility is the more correct opinion. Mawlana Ubaidullah Rahmani (may Allah have mercy on him) says:
فارجع الاقوال عندنا هو أنه يجوز ويباح من اتٰي مسجدا قد صلى فيه بامام راتب وهو لم يكن صلاها وقد فاتته الجماعة لعذر ان يصلي بالجماعة والله اعلم
“In our view, the stronger opinion is that if a person arrives at the mosque after the appointed imam has led the prayer and he missed it due to an excuse, it is permissible and lawful for him to pray with the second congregation.”
In any case, it should be remembered that intentionally missing the congregation without excuse and lazily establishing a second congregation is not correct, because on the other hand, there is great emphasis on praying with the congregation, and the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) liked the believers’ prayers to be together, as the Prophet (peace be upon him) said:
لقد اعجبني أن تكون صلاة المؤمنين واحدة حتٰي لقد هممت أن ابث رجالا فى الدور ينادون الناس بحين الصلاة
“I like the prayer of the believers to be one, so much so that I intended to send some men to the neighborhoods to inform people of the prayer time.”
Besides this, many authentic hadiths emphasize praying with the congregation, showing that we should make every effort to pray with the congregation and not lag behind except for a legitimate excuse. Because if we leave home intending to pray in congregation and miss the prayer on the way, then praying in the mosque will grant the reward of congregation, as mentioned in an authentic hadith:
من توضأ فاحسن وضوءه ثم راح فوجد الناس قد صلوا اعطاه الله مثل اجر من صلاها وحضرها لا ينقص ذٰلك من اجرهم شيئا
Imam Hakim (may Allah have mercy on him) said it is authentic according to Muslim’s conditions, and Imam Dhahabi (may Allah have mercy on him) agreed with him. This narration is Hasan.
It also has a supporting narration in Abu Dawood. See
, and Sheikh Albani (may Allah have mercy on him) also graded this hadith as authentic.
“He who performs wudu well and then sets out (towards the mosque) and finds that people have already prayed, Allah will reward him as if he prayed in congregation and his reward will not be diminished.”
Therefore, one should not lag behind the congregation without a legitimate excuse, and if one misses the congregation due to an excuse and prays with others in a second congregation, it is permissible without dislike.
