missed obligation, and he must not isolate himself from the rest of the worshippers. For example, if the iqamah for the ʿAsr prayer has been pronounced and you enter the mosque without having prayed Ẓuhr, do not offer Ẓuhr then, because ʿAsr has already been announced. Rather, join the congregation with the intention of Ẓuhr; once you have finished that prayer, perform ʿAsr.

But what if the iqamah is called while you are already engaged in a voluntary prayer—should you finish it or break it off? The scholars hold two opinions:

1. The first view states that once the iqamah is given and you have begun a supererogatory prayer, you must stop and not complete it at all.
2. The second view says: complete it, even if by doing so you miss a rakʿah or two—or even the entire congregational prayer—so long as only the time needed for the opening takbīr remains before the imam’s salām.

The soundest position is a middle path: if the iqamah is pronounced while you are in a voluntary prayer and you are still in the first rakʿah, then terminate it. If you have reached the second rakʿah, finish it quickly. This is the correct opinion that best harmonizes the textual proofs.