on the strength of the other.

In a case like this, he says: When a woman is with other women, she prays among them. But when she is with men, she prays only behind them, even if she is alone, because she is forbidden to stand alongside men in their rows. Standing apart from the men is therefore more appropriate for her than joining their rows. Likewise, when she leads women in prayer, she stands among them because this affords her greater concealment, just as someone leading unclothed people in prayer stands among them, even though the Sunnah for a clothed man leading the prayer is to stand ahead of the row.

We say: The imam is not in the same position as those following him. His prescribed practice is to stand ahead, not alongside others in a row, whereas theirs is to form rows. The fact that the imam and the woman stand alone does, however, indicate that a man following the imam may stand alone when there is a need—namely, when he can find no place to pray except on his own. This follows by analogy from the position of Ahmad and others. Moreover, obligations in prayer and elsewhere are waived when valid excuses exist. Forming rows is only one of the obligations of prayer, so inability to do so waives it in congregational prayer, just as other obligations are waived, whether they concern the congregation or the prayer itself.

For this reason, maintaining congregational prayer in circumstances of fear, illness and the like—even when this involves turning away from the qiblah, considerable movement, ceasing to follow the imam, or a sick person omitting standing—is preferable to praying individually. Accordingly, some of Ahmad’s followers held that a person following the imam may stand ahead of him when necessary, as in crowded conditions and the like, although this is not permissible without such a need. This has also been reported among the descriptions of the prayer in times of fear. For this reason, he and other imams of the Sunnah waived certain requirements of congregational prayer, such as