Abu Al-Aliyah Abra’ (may Allah have mercy on him) narrates that Ibn Ziyad delayed the prayer, so Abdullah bin Samit came to me. I gave him a chair and he sat on it. Then I told him about Ibn Ziyad’s action. He bit his lips, then struck his hand on my thigh and said: I had asked Abu Dharr Al-Ghifari (may Allah be pleased with him) the same question as you have asked me, so he struck my thigh just as I have struck yours, and said: Indeed, I asked the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) the same question as you have asked me, so he struck my thigh just as I have struck yours, and he (peace and blessings be upon him) said:“Perform the prayer at its (prescribed) time. Then if you catch the prayer (in congregation) with these rulers, then pray (with them), and do not say: Indeed, I have already prayed, so I will not pray (again).”This is the narration of Bundar, and in the narration of Yahya bin Hakeem, it is mentioned that he bit both his lips.

So the prayer in congregation for the follower is voluntary, and the prayer of the individual before it is obligatory, and the evidence that the saying of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him: "There is no prayer after Fajr until the sun rises," is a specific prohibition, not a general prohibition.

Sayyiduna Yazid bin Aswad Amiri رضي الله عنه narrates that I participated in the Hajj with the Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم. I performed the Fajr prayer with him in the Mosque of Khaif in Mina. When he صلى الله عليه وسلم completed the prayer, suddenly he saw that there were two men sitting behind the people who had not prayed with him. He صلى الله عليه وسلم ordered that both of them be brought to him. So they were brought, and (due to fear) the flesh of their shoulders was trembling. He صلى الله عليه وسلم asked: "Why did you not pray with us?" Both replied, "O Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم, we have already prayed in our neighborhood." He صلى الله عليه وسلم said: "Do not do so. When you have prayed in your neighborhood (mosque), then if you come to a mosque where there is congregation, join them in prayer, for it will become a voluntary prayer for you." In the narration of Janab Bundar, it is stated: "Then come to the Imam who has not yet prayed." And in the narration of Janab Waki', it is stated: "Then come while the people are praying." And Janab San'ani has added these words: People were holding the blessed hand of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم and placing it on their faces, and it was cooler than ice and more fragrant than musk.

Sayyiduna Abu Dharr (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates from the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that he said: "What will be your condition when you will be among people who delay the prayer from its (prescribed) time?" Then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to them: "You should perform the prayer at its (prescribed) time. Then if you find them (the people) have not yet performed the prayer, then perform the prayer with them as well, and do not say, 'I have already performed the prayer, so I will not perform (the prayer) with them.'" Janab Bundar did not mention these words: "You should perform the prayer at its (prescribed) time."

And the second [prayer] which he performs in congregation with the imam is considered voluntary, contrary to the statement of those who claim that the second is obligatory and the first is supererogatory, along with the evidence that if the imam delays the ‘Asr prayer, a person should perform ‘Asr at its proper time, then join the imam [later] . In this is an indication that the saying of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him:“There is no prayer after ‘Asr until the sun sets,”is a specific prohibition, not a general one.

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "Perhaps soon you will encounter people who will perform the prayer after its (prescribed) time—so if you find such people, then perform the prayer in your homes at its proper time, then perform the prayer with those people and make it a voluntary (nafl) prayer."

Sulaiman bin Yasar, the freed slave of Sayyidah Maymunah (may Allah be pleased with her), narrates: I came to Sayyiduna Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) while he was sitting at the place of Balat, and people were performing prayer. I said, "Will you not pray?" He replied, "I have already performed the prayer." I asked, "Will you not perform the (congregational) prayer with these people?" He replied, "I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say: 'Do not perform the same prayer twice in one day.'" This is the narration of Janab Isa.

Sayyiduna Mughira bin Shu’bah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that during the expedition of Tabuk, before Fajr, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) moved away from the road and I was with him, so I also moved away from the road. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) made his camel sit down and relieved himself. (When he finished) I poured water from a vessel over his hands. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) washed his hands, then washed his blessed face, then tried to uncover his arms, but the sleeves of his cloak were tight. So he inserted his hands inside his cloak and brought them out from underneath, and washed them up to the elbows. Then he wiped his head, then wiped over his leather socks, then mounted (his camel). Then, as we walked, we reached the people and found them praying. They had put Sayyiduna Abdur Rahman bin Awf (may Allah be pleased with him) forward, and he had already led them in one rak’ah of the Fajr prayer. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) stood in the row with the Muslims and performed the second rak’ah behind Sayyiduna Abdur Rahman bin Awf (may Allah be pleased with him). Then Sayyiduna Abdur Rahman (may Allah be pleased with him) finished the prayer with salam, and the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) stood up to complete his prayer. At this, the Muslims became very anxious and began to say tasbih abundantly, because they had prayed before the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). When the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) finished with salam, he said to them:“You have done very well, or you have done the right thing (by performing the congregational prayer at its time).”

And the completion of the prayer by residents after the imam finishes, if the report is established; for there is something in the heart regarding Ali ibn Zayd ibn Jud'an, and I have only included this report in this book because this is an issue about which the scholars do not differ.

Abu Nadrah reports that a young man stood before Sayyiduna Imran bin Husain (may Allah be pleased with him), held the reins of his mount, and asked him about the prayer of fear (Salat al-Khawf). He turned towards us and said, "This young man has asked me a question; I wish to explain it to all of you. I participated in several expeditions with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and until we returned to Madinah, he would only perform two rak‘ahs (units of prayer)." In the narration of Ziyad bin Ayyub, there is this addition: "And I also performed Hajj with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and he only performed two rak‘ahs until he returned to Madinah." In the narrations of both Ahmad bin Abda and Ziyad bin Ayyub, it is mentioned that during the conquest of Makkah, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) stayed in Makkah for eighteen nights, and he continued to perform only two rak‘ahs. Then he would say to the people of Makkah: "You should perform the full four rak‘ahs, for we are travelers." And I also participated in battle with Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) and performed Hajj with him; he too would only perform two rak‘ahs until he returned. And I performed Hajj several times with Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him); he also performed only two rak‘ahs until he returned. And Sayyiduna Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him), during the first seven years of his caliphate, would also perform only two rak‘ahs during Hajj until he returned to Madinah. Then, after those seven years, he began to perform the full four rak‘ahs. In Ahmad’s narration, there is this addition: Then he asked, "Have I explained the matter to you?" We replied, "Yes." The wording of this narration is from Ahmad bin Abda’s narration.