[Q 336] Praying Fard Alone and Joining Jamaat

Question

When praying Fard Salah alone, if you reach the 4 rakat, and then some people enter Masjid and start Jamat for the Fard, what should be done? If a person continued and completed prayer alone, is it valid?

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

الجواب بعون الملك الوهاب اللهم هداية الحق والصواب

Answer

In the mentioned scenario, it is not permissible to break your prayer. It is necessary to complete the prayer alone, hence your prayer performed alone is correct, and your prayer has been duly completed.

It is mentioned in Bahar-e-Shariat: “If you start a four-rakat prayer and have completed one rakat, meaning you have performed the prostration of the first rakat, it is obligatory to complete another and then break it so that these two rakats count as Nafl (supererogatory) prayers. If you have completed two rakats, break it after reading Tashahhud and saying Salam. However, if you have completed three rakats, it is obligatory not to break it; if you do, you will be sinful. Rather, the ruling is to complete it and then join the congregation with the intention of Nafl to gain the reward of the congregation. However, you cannot join in Asr as Nafl is not permissible after Asr.”

(Bahar-e-Shariat, Volume 1, Part 4, Page 696, Maktaba-tul-Madina Karachi)

Answered by: Usman Madani (Askmufti scholar)

Verified by : Mufti Sajid Attari

Translated answer

Date: 25th June 2024