❀ Ruling on Offering Sunnah of Dhuhr Near a Congregation ❀
Source: Fatāwā ʿUlamāʾ-e-Ḥadīth, Kitāb al-Ṣalāh, Volume 1
✿ Question:
If a person has already offered the obligatory Dhuhr prayer in congregation at the mosque, and then a second congregation begins, is it permissible for him to offer the remaining Sunnah prayers of Dhuhr near them?
✿ Answer:
Yes, the person may offer the remaining Sunnah prayers of Dhuhr near the second congregation.
If he joins the second congregation, the prayer will be considered nafl (voluntary) for him, since he has already fulfilled his obligation.
✿ Evidence from Hadith:
Narrated by ʿAbdur Raḥmān ibn ʿAbd al-Qārī رضي الله عنه:
“I went out with ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb رضي الله عنه on a night of Ramadan to the mosque and found people praying in separate groups—some praying alone and some praying behind one person. ʿUmar رضي الله عنه said: ‘I think it would be better if I gathered them all behind one reciter.’ So he appointed Ubayy ibn Kaʿb رضي الله عنه as their imam.”
(Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī)
This Hadith serves as evidence that there is no prohibition in offering prayers—whether Sunnah individually or near a congregation—in the mosque.
✔ Summary:
After attending the first congregation, if a second congregation begins, it is permissible to offer the remaining Sunnah of Dhuhr nearby.
Allah knows best.
