by the general wording of his statement—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—“Women are but the twin halves of men,” as we previously quoted from al-Shawkani in al-Sayl al-Jarrar; remember it, for it is important.
His words: “…Al-Athram and Saʿid ibn Mansur relate from Anas that he entered a mosque where the congregational prayer had already been offered, so he ordered a man to pronounce the adhan and the iqamah and then led them in a new congregation.”
I say: al-Bukhari cites this report in hanging form, and al-Bayhaqi joined its chain with an authentic isnad back to Anas. Some people infer from it the permissibility of holding multiple congregations in a single mosque, yet it offers no proof for two reasons:
- It is mawquf.
- It is opposed by a Companion more versed in jurisprudence than Anas, namely ʿAbd Allah ibn Masʿud, may Allah be pleased with him. ʿAbd al-Razzaq records in al-Musannaf 2/409 (no. 3883), and from him al-Tabarani in al-Muʿjam al-Kabir (no. 9380), with a good chain from Ibrahim, that ʿAlqamah and al-Aswad accompanied Ibn Masʿud to the mosque. They found that the people had already prayed, so he took them back to the house and then led them in prayer there.
Had a second congregation in the mosque been unconditionally permissible, Ibn Masʿud would not have gathered them in the house—especially when performing the obligatory prayer in the mosque is clearly superior.
Later I found evidence that gives this report the standing of being marfuʿ. It is corroborated by what al-Tabarani narrates in al-Awsat (no. 4739, according to my numbering) from ʿAbd al-Rahman ibn Abi Bakrah, from his father: the Messenger of Allah, ﷺ, came from the outskirts of Madinah intending to pray, but discovered that the people had already prayed. He therefore turned toward his home, gathered his family, and led them in prayer. Al-Tabarani commented, “It is not narrated from Abu Bakrah except through this chain.”
I say: its chain is sound. Al-Haythami remarks in Majmaʿ 2/45: