❖ Ruling on Offering Sunnah Prayers After Iqamah for Fajr Salah
Source: Fatāwā Amunpuri by Shaykh Ghulam Mustafa Zaheer Amunpuri
❖ Question:
If the congregational prayer (Jamāʿah) for Fajr has already commenced, can the Sunnah of Fajr still be performed separately?
❖ Answer:
Once the Iqāmah for the obligatory (Farḍ) prayer has been announced, it is not permissible to offer Sunnah or Nawāfil prayers—whether they are performed in the row (ṣaff) or behind the rows, or whether one speaks after praying or not.
✿ Hadith Evidences:
❖ Sayyidunā Abū Hurairah رضي الله عنه narrated that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
إِذَا أُقِيمَتِ الصَّلَاةُ فَلَا صَلَاةَ إِلَّا الْمَكْتُوبَةُ"When the Iqāmah for the prayer is called, there is no prayer except the obligatory one."
(Musnad Aḥmad 2/331; Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: 710)
This narration has been transmitted both as Marfūʿ (attributed to the Prophet ﷺ) and Mawqūf (as a verdict of the Companion). It establishes a clear principle: once the Iqāmah is called, whether it be for Fajr Sunnah or any other prayer, offering any other prayer besides the Farḍ is forbidden.
✿ Statements of the Scholars:
❖ Imām al-Khaṭṭābī رحمه الله (d. 388H):“This hadith proves that after the Iqāmah, the two Rakʿāt of Fajr and any other prayer are prohibited—except the obligatory one.”
(
Maʿālim al-Sunan 1/274)❖ Ibn al-Jawzī رحمه الله (d. 597H):
“The prohibition of Nawāfil after the Iqāmah is because it is now the time for the obligatory prayer. It is not appropriate to engage in a lesser act when the greater act is present.”
(
Kashf al-Mushkil 1/1022)❖ Imām al-Nawawī رحمه الله (d. 676H):
“This hadith clearly forbids offering any Nawāfil after the Iqāmah, whether it is regular Sunnah like those of Fajr, Ẓuhr, or ʿAṣr, or other voluntary prayers. This is the view of Imām al-Shāfiʿī and the majority of scholars.”
(
Sharḥ Muslim 1/247)❖ Ibn al-Qayyim al-Jawziyyah رحمه الله (d. 751H):
“It is a clear and authentic Sunnah that no Nawāfil are to be prayed after the Iqāmah. The Ḥanafīs have opposed this Sunnah.”
(
Iʿlām al-Muwaqqiʿīn 2/375)✿ Additional Textual Evidence:
❖ Abū Hurairah رضي الله عنه narrated that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
إِذَا أُقِيمَتِ الصَّلَاةُ فَلَا صَلَاةَ إِلَّا الَّتِي أُقِيمَتْ"When the Iqāmah is called, only the prayer for which it is called is to be offered."
(
al-Awsaṭ of al-Ṭabarānī: 8654; Sharḥ Maʿānī al-Āthār 1/371 — chain ḥasan)✿ Practical Example from the Prophet ﷺ:
❖ ʿAbdullāh bin Mālik bin Buḥayna رضي الله عنه narrated:The Messenger of Allah ﷺ saw a man praying Sunnah after the Iqāmah for Fajr had been called. After the prayer, the Prophet ﷺ said:
“Are there four Rakʿāt for Fajr? Are there four Rakʿāt for Fajr?”
(
*Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī: 663; Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: 711)❖ Another narration in Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim:
“When the Iqāmah was being said, the Prophet ﷺ saw a man praying. He asked: ‘Are you praying four Rakʿāt of Fajr?’”
✿ Commentary by Classical Scholars:
❖ Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr رحمه الله:“These statements of the Prophet ﷺ are disapprovals of praying Sunnah after the Iqāmah. No one is allowed to offer Fajr Sunnah in the Masjid after Iqāmah.”
(
al-Tamhīd 22/68–69)❖ Abū al-ʿAbbās al-Qurṭubī رحمه الله (d. 656H):
“The Prophet’s ﷺ question: ‘Are you praying four Rakʿāt for Fajr?’ indicates disapproval of this act and refutes those who permit praying Sunnah while the Imam is leading the obligatory prayer.”
(
al-Mufhim 2/350)❖ Imām al-Nawawī رحمه الله:
“This rhetorical question implies that only Farḍ should be prayed after the Iqāmah. If someone prays two Rakʿāt of Sunnah and then joins the congregation, it appears as if he offered four Rakʿāt, which is incorrect.”
(
Sharḥ Muslim 1/247)❖ ʿAllāmah al-ʿAynī رحمه الله (d. 855H):
“The Prophet ﷺ rebuked the man for praying Sunnah after the Iqāmah. Doing so implies offering four Rakʿāt for Fajr.”
(
ʿUmdat al-Qārī 5/181)✿ More Hadiths Supporting the Ruling:
❖ ʿAbdullāh bin Sarjis رضي الله عنه narrated:A man entered the Masjid while the Prophet ﷺ was leading Fajr. The man prayed two Rakʿāt of Sunnah in a corner and then joined the prayer. Afterward, the Prophet ﷺ asked:
“O so-and-so! Which of the two prayers do you count — the one you prayed alone or the one with us?”
(
Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: 712)❖ Al-Khaṭṭābī رحمه الله explained:
“This shows that when the Imam is leading the obligatory prayer, one should not engage in Sunnah, but rather join the congregation. Afterward, he may offer the missed Sunnah.”
(
Maʿālim al-Sunan 1/274)❖ Imām al-Nawawī رحمه الله:
“This is clear evidence that even if one believes they can still catch a Rakʿah, praying Sunnah after Iqāmah is not allowed.”
(
Sharḥ Muslim 1/247)✿ Other Authentic Narrations:
❖ ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿUmar رضي الله عنهما reported that the Prophet ﷺ saw a man praying Fajr Sunnah after the Iqāmah and asked:“Are you praying four Rakʿāt for Fajr?”
(
Musnad al-Bazzār: 3260 – Ṣaḥīḥ isnād)❖ ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿAbbās رضي الله عنهما said:
“I was praying when the Muʾadhdhin began the Iqāmah. The Prophet ﷺ pulled me and said: ‘Do you want to offer four Rakʿāt for Fajr?’”
(
Musnad al-Ṭayālisī: 2859; al-Sunan al-Kubrā by al-Bayhaqī 2/482 – chain ḥasan)In another narration:
The Prophet ﷺ physically pulled a man praying Sunnah during Iqāmah and asked:
“Are you performing four obligatory Rakʿāt of Fajr?”
(
Musnad Aḥmad 1/238 – ḥasan isnād)❖ Anas ibn Mālik رضي الله عنه said:
“When the prayer started, the Prophet ﷺ saw people praying Nawāfil and asked: ‘Are you combining two prayers?’”
(
al-Tārīkh al-Ṣaghīr by al-Bukhārī: 2300 – ḥasan isnād)
✿ Final Statement:
❖ Ibn Ḥazm رحمه الله:“These reports are mass-transmitted (mutawātir). It is not permissible for anyone to oppose them.”
(
al-Muḥallā 3/108 – Issue: 308)
Conclusion:
① It is not permissible to offer the Sunnah of Fajr after the Iqāmah has been called.
② One must immediately join the congregation.
③ Even if a person believes he can still catch a Rakʿah, he should not begin or complete the Sunnah prayer.
④ The Prophet ﷺ explicitly prohibited and reprimanded those who did so.
⑤ The ruling applies to all Nawāfil once the Iqāmah has begun.
