When the Iqamah for Salah is Called, No Prayer Other than the Obligatory Salah is Performed (Muslim: 710)
This excerpt is taken from Hudiyyat al-Muslimeen – Important Issues Regarding Salah with Complete Description of the Prophetic Prayer ﷺ by Shaykh Zubair Ali Zai رحمه الله.
«عن أبى هريرة عن النبى صلى الله عليه وسلم قال: إذا أقيمت الصلوة فلا صلوة إلا المكتوبة»
It is narrated from Abu Hurairah رضي الله عنه that the Noble Prophet ﷺ said:
“When the Iqamah for Salah is called, no prayer is to be performed except the obligatory one.”
[Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: 247/1, Ḥadīth 710]
① This ḥadīth proves that after the Iqamah for an obligatory prayer (such as Fajr), performing Sunnah or Nafl prayers is incorrect and invalid. This is also supported by the Qur’anic verse:
﴿وَارْكَعُوا مَعَ الرَّاكِعِينَ﴾ (Al-Baqarah: 43) – “And bow down with those who bow down.”
② From multiple aḥādīth in Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, and others, it is established that while the Fajr obligatory prayer is being held, the two Rak‘ahs of Sunnah should not be performed. In a narration from Ṣaḥīḥ Ibn Khuzaymah, it is stated:
فنهى أن يصلي فى المسجد إذا أقيمت الصلوة – meaning, the Prophet ﷺ forbade performing another prayer in the masjid after the Iqamah was called.
[Ṣaḥīḥ Ibn Khuzaymah: 170/2, Ḥadīth 1126]
③ In an authentic ḥadīth, it is mentioned that Qays bin Qahd رضي الله عنه performed two Rak‘ahs (Sunnah) after the Fajr obligatory prayer. When the Messenger of Allah ﷺ came to know, he remained silent and did not object.
[See: Ṣaḥīḥ Ibn Khuzaymah 164/2, Ḥadīth 116; Ṣaḥīḥ Ibn Ḥibbān 82/4 Al-Iḥsān, Ḥadīth 2462; Al-Mustadrak 274/1–275, Ḥadīth 10170]
Ibn Khuzaymah, Ibn Ḥibbān, al-Ḥākim, and al-Dhahabi all declared this narration authentic. The criticism by Ibn ‘Abd al-Barr on its chain is rejected since it is against the position of the majority.
④ Imām Abū Ḥanīfah stated:
“Whoever misses the two Sunnahs of Fajr should neither perform them before sunrise nor after it.”
[See: Al-Hidāyah 156/1, Bāb Idrāk al-Farīḍah]
This statement of the Imām is contrary to the above authentic ḥadīth and also contradicts a weak narration in Tirmidhī (96/1, Ḥadīth 423) which mentions performing these Sunnahs after sunrise. That narration is weak due to Qatādah’s tadlīs in the chain.
⑤ Some blind followers have presented certain āthār (narrations from Companions) that contradict the Qur’an and authentic aḥādīth. Most of these are unauthentic. For example, in Majma‘ al-Zawā’id (75/2), citing Ṭabarānī (Al-Mu‘jam al-Kabīr 319/9, Ḥadīths 9385, 9387), there is a narration stating that Ibn Mas‘ūd رضي الله عنه performed two Sunnahs at the time of the Imam’s obligatory prayer. This chain is weak due to Abu Isḥāq al-Mudallis’s ‘an‘anah.
Even if some āthār in works such as Ṭaḥāwī’s were accepted as authentic, it is still wrong and invalid to present them against the Qur’an and explicit marfū‘ aḥādīth. It should be remembered that many Companions رضي الله عنهم did not approve of performing Sunnahs during the congregational prayer.
⑥ Ẓafar Ahmad ‘Uthmānī al-Deobandī writes:
ولا حجة فى قول الصحابي فى معارضة المرفوع
Meaning: According to the Deobandis, the statement of a Companion holds no weight when it contradicts a marfū‘ ḥadīth.
[I‘lā’ al-Sunan 438/1, under Ḥadīth 432]
This excerpt is taken from Hudiyyat al-Muslimeen – Important Issues Regarding Salah with Complete Description of the Prophetic Prayer ﷺ by Shaykh Zubair Ali Zai رحمه الله.
The Two Sunnahs of Fajr
«عن أبى هريرة عن النبى صلى الله عليه وسلم قال: إذا أقيمت الصلوة فلا صلوة إلا المكتوبة»
It is narrated from Abu Hurairah رضي الله عنه that the Noble Prophet ﷺ said:
“When the Iqamah for Salah is called, no prayer is to be performed except the obligatory one.”
[Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: 247/1, Ḥadīth 710]
Benefits
① This ḥadīth proves that after the Iqamah for an obligatory prayer (such as Fajr), performing Sunnah or Nafl prayers is incorrect and invalid. This is also supported by the Qur’anic verse:
﴿وَارْكَعُوا مَعَ الرَّاكِعِينَ﴾ (Al-Baqarah: 43) – “And bow down with those who bow down.”
② From multiple aḥādīth in Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, and others, it is established that while the Fajr obligatory prayer is being held, the two Rak‘ahs of Sunnah should not be performed. In a narration from Ṣaḥīḥ Ibn Khuzaymah, it is stated:
فنهى أن يصلي فى المسجد إذا أقيمت الصلوة – meaning, the Prophet ﷺ forbade performing another prayer in the masjid after the Iqamah was called.
[Ṣaḥīḥ Ibn Khuzaymah: 170/2, Ḥadīth 1126]
③ In an authentic ḥadīth, it is mentioned that Qays bin Qahd رضي الله عنه performed two Rak‘ahs (Sunnah) after the Fajr obligatory prayer. When the Messenger of Allah ﷺ came to know, he remained silent and did not object.
[See: Ṣaḥīḥ Ibn Khuzaymah 164/2, Ḥadīth 116; Ṣaḥīḥ Ibn Ḥibbān 82/4 Al-Iḥsān, Ḥadīth 2462; Al-Mustadrak 274/1–275, Ḥadīth 10170]
Ibn Khuzaymah, Ibn Ḥibbān, al-Ḥākim, and al-Dhahabi all declared this narration authentic. The criticism by Ibn ‘Abd al-Barr on its chain is rejected since it is against the position of the majority.
④ Imām Abū Ḥanīfah stated:
“Whoever misses the two Sunnahs of Fajr should neither perform them before sunrise nor after it.”
[See: Al-Hidāyah 156/1, Bāb Idrāk al-Farīḍah]
This statement of the Imām is contrary to the above authentic ḥadīth and also contradicts a weak narration in Tirmidhī (96/1, Ḥadīth 423) which mentions performing these Sunnahs after sunrise. That narration is weak due to Qatādah’s tadlīs in the chain.
⑤ Some blind followers have presented certain āthār (narrations from Companions) that contradict the Qur’an and authentic aḥādīth. Most of these are unauthentic. For example, in Majma‘ al-Zawā’id (75/2), citing Ṭabarānī (Al-Mu‘jam al-Kabīr 319/9, Ḥadīths 9385, 9387), there is a narration stating that Ibn Mas‘ūd رضي الله عنه performed two Sunnahs at the time of the Imam’s obligatory prayer. This chain is weak due to Abu Isḥāq al-Mudallis’s ‘an‘anah.
Even if some āthār in works such as Ṭaḥāwī’s were accepted as authentic, it is still wrong and invalid to present them against the Qur’an and explicit marfū‘ aḥādīth. It should be remembered that many Companions رضي الله عنهم did not approve of performing Sunnahs during the congregational prayer.
⑥ Ẓafar Ahmad ‘Uthmānī al-Deobandī writes:
ولا حجة فى قول الصحابي فى معارضة المرفوع
Meaning: According to the Deobandis, the statement of a Companion holds no weight when it contradicts a marfū‘ ḥadīth.
[I‘lā’ al-Sunan 438/1, under Ḥadīth 432]
