Chapter: Repeating a Prayer in Congregation for One Who First Prayed Alone, and Forming a Second Congregation in the Mosque

Whoever has already performed a prayer in congregation is not to repeat it with another congregation, except in the Sacred Mosque or the Prophet’s Mosque, for the underlying reason—Allah knows best—for allowing the solitary worshipper to repeat the prayer is that he may gain the merit and sunnah of congregational worship. One who has prayed in congregation has already obtained all of that, so there is no purpose in repeating it. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “A prayer is not repeated twice in the same day.” In our understanding, this means that one who has prayed in congregation must not repeat it in a second congregation; if that were permissible once, it would be permissible countless times without limit. The solitary worshipper, however, is instructed to repeat the prayer in congregation precisely because he prayed alone, and it is impossible to compare the case of a group to his. The majority of jurists concur with Mālik on this point.

If someone has prayed by himself and then encounters a congregation performing that very prayer within its appointed time, it is commendable for him to join them, whether he is in a mosque or elsewhere. Should the iqāmah be given for the same prayer he has already prayed alone while he remains present, he should not depart until he prays it with them. This ruling applies to every obligatory prayer except Maghrib alone. Some scholars of Medina held that Maghrib, like the other prayers, may likewise be repeated.

The first view is the one we follow, because a supererogatory prayer cannot be rendered as an odd number except in