Chapter: The Prayer of Fear

This prayer takes a number of forms.

1. When the enemy is positioned in the direction of the qibla, the imam arranges the worshippers in two rows and leads them in prayer. When he goes into prostration, one row performs both prostrations with him while the other row keeps guard. When the first row rises, the guards then prostrate and catch up with the imam. In the second rakʿah those who had guarded first now prostrate with him, while the others stand guard. When he sits for the final tashahhud, the guards prostrate, and he recites the tashahhud with both rows present before giving the salām. This was how the Messenger of Allah ﷺ prayed at ʿUsfān. If, in each rakʿah, the guarding is shared by two subdivisions of a single row, it is acceptable; the same holds for a single subdivision according to the sounder opinion.

2. When the enemy is not facing the qibla, the imam performs the prayer twice, each time with a different detachment. This was the Prophet’s practice at Batn Nakhil. A second arrangement is that one detachment stands facing the enemy while he leads the other in a single rakʿah. When he rises for the second rakʿah, the first detachment separates from him, completes its prayer, and moves to face the enemy. The guards then come forward, follow the imam, and he leads them in their second rakʿah. When he sits for tashahhud, they stand to finish their own second rakʿah, then rejoin him, and he gives the salām with them. This was the Prophet’s prayer at Dhat al-Riqāʿ, and the sounder view is that it is superior to the arrangement at Batn Nakhil. While waiting for them in the second rakʿah, the imam recites Qur’an and recites the tashahhud; another opinion is that he delays the salām so they may catch up with him. If the prayer in question is Maghrib, he leads each detachment in two rakʿahs.