Question: If there is a nearby mosque where one can still catch the congregational prayer or the Friday prayer, must the worshippers go there instead of praying in the street?

Answer: If they are able to reach a nearby mosque in time for the prayer, it is preferable for them to go there so as to spare themselves hardship and avoid disagreement.

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Breaking off a voluntary prayer when the iqama is given

Question: I see some people who, after beginning a sunnah prayer, will stop their prayer when the imam gives the iqama—even though they have already completed one rakʿah and started the second. Is this permissible or not?

Answer: If the iqama is called while a Muslim is performing a voluntary prayer that he began before the iqama, he should complete it quickly and not break it off, because Allah the Exalted says, “And do not invalidate your deeds” (Surah Muhammad 33). There is therefore no need to interrupt a voluntary prayer once one has started it.

After the iqama has been announced, however, it is not permissible for someone who intends to follow the imam to initiate a voluntary prayer. The ruling discussed here concerns only the person who began his voluntary prayer before the iqama: he must finish it briefly and then join the imam, and it is not lawful for him to cut it short.