Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,

As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.  (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)

One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:

Assalamu Alaikum wa rahmathullah,

We pray in our office. we around 6 - 7 persons. One day the prayer started and it`s in a 2nd Raqa, that time i joined total only 4 person can stand in one line so i cannot stand along with them, i stand 2nd line alone. After the prayer one of my friend told me that you cannot stay alone in one line, atleast have 2. I told him that i don`t know the imam is in the last raqa or 2nd raqa, assuming that last raqa i started pray because i want to goin the jama`t, then he told me you have to get atleast one raqa with the imam to get the benefit of the Jama`t. Could you pls send me the answer and details of theese examples.

Thank you very much. 

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Answer:

Joining congregation

In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is no one (no idol, no person, no grave, no prophet, no imam, no dai, nobody!) worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

Fiqh-us-Sunnah Fiqh 2.54a

Whoever joins a congregation, he should perform the opening takbir while standing and then move directly to the act that the congregation may be performing, for instance, if the congregation is prostrating one should perform the opening takbir and then join it in the prostration. However, such a person is not considered as having performed the rak'ah unless he performs the ruku' (bowing) in congregation.

Abu Hurairah reports that the Messenger of Allah (saws) said: "If you come to the salah and we are in sajdah, then make sajdah with us but do not count it [as a rak'ah]. And whoever 'catches' the ruku', he catches the salah."

(Related by Abu Dawud, Ibn Khuzaimah, and al-Hakim.

Your Question: One day the prayer started and it`s in a 2nd Raqa, that time i joined total only 4 person can stand in one line so i cannot stand along with them, i stand 2nd line alone. After the prayer one of my friend told me that you cannot stay alone in one line, atleast have 2.

If there is no place to stand with the worshippers in the first row behind the Imam, the correct procedure is to join the congregation by forming a second row exactly behind the middle of the first row.

There is absolutely no harm if there is only one person in the last row, and you did the right thing by joining the congregation and forming the second row even if you were alone. The brother who said that one cannot join the congregation and form another row alone has given an incorrect opinion.

Your Question: I told him that i don`t know the imam is in the last raqa or 2nd raqa, assuming that last raqa i started pray because i want to goin the jama`t, then he told me you have to get atleast one raqa with the imam to get the benefit of the Jama`t.

Regardless of what state the prayer is in, as long as the imam has not completed his prayers by declaring the tasleem, the believers should join the salaah in congregation. If one ‘cathes’ the ruku along with the congregation, it will be counted as a rakah of prayer, and the believer must finish the balance rakahs after the imam has completed the prayer and declared the tasleems.

You again did the right thing by joining the congregation in whatever state they were in, and Insha Allah you will have your reward for your prayer in congregation.

The brother who said that one cannot join a congregation unless and until he prays at least one rakah with the Imam has given an incorrect opinion! If for any reason one has reached late, it is absolutely permissible and recommended to join the congregation in whatever state and stage of prayer the imam might be in, even if he has sat down after the final rakah to recite the ‘tashahud’!

Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me alone. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

Your Brother in Islam,

Burhan