Chapter: It is disliked for a congregant to begin a supererogatory prayer after the mu’adhdhin has started the iqamah, whether that supererogatory prayer is the regular sunnah attached to that obligatory prayer or any other.

1759 – Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet ﷺ said, “When the iqamah for the prayer is pronounced, no prayer may be performed except the obligatory one.” Narrated by Muslim.

[Explanation]

The author (may Allah have mercy on him) says: This chapter concerns the dislike of a follower beginning a voluntary prayer once the obligatory prayer has been called to commence. In other words, when the iqamah has been given, the person standing behind the imam should not start any voluntary prayer—whether it is the two-rakʿah greeting of the mosque, an unrestricted supererogatory prayer, or the regular sunnah linked to that very obligation. For example, if you arrive for the Fajr prayer and the iqamah is being given, it is impermissible to perform the two sunnah rakʿahs of Fajr, because the obligatory prayer has already been announced. The evidence is the ḥadīth of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) in which the Prophet ﷺ said, “When the iqamah for the prayer is pronounced, no prayer may be performed except the obligatory one.” His phrase “no prayer” is unrestricted and therefore includes every kind of prayer. Even if a person has a missed obligatory prayer that he forgot and only remembers when the iqamah has been called, he is not to perform it then; rather, he should join the imam with the intention of that