Fatwa No : 84363
The Ruling on Holding Two Congregational Prayers in a Factory Mosque

The Ruling on Holding Two Congregational Prayers in a Factory Mosque

Respected Mufti Sahib! The issue is as follows: I serve as an imam in a factory. Congregational prayers are held in the mosque located within the factory. After the main congregation (jama‘ah) is completed, the factory owner comes to the mosque and appoints someone with a beard to lead another congregation so that he too may perform the prayer in congregation. The factory is large, and after the main jama‘ah, some workers who missed the prayer do perform their salah individually. However, the factory management has developed a habit of arranging a second congregation after the main one, making it a regular practice. This has caused people to become lazy, with some deliberately delaying their prayers to join the second jama‘ah. Kindly clarify the ruling of this practice in light of Shari‘ah. To note, the mosque belongs to the factory and is not a waqf (endowed public mosque).

الجوابُ حامِدا ًو مُصلیِّا ً

Without a valid Shar‘i excuse, delaying the prayer from its appointed time and establishing a second congregation in the same manner as the first is considered makruh tahrimi (prohibitively disliked) according to the noble Hadiths. Therefore, if certain individuals make it a routine to hold a second congregation after the main one, and this results in fewer people attending the first congregation, then it is necessary to avoid this practice in all circumstances. However, if on some occasions someone misses the main congregation and a second congregation is held, and it does not resemble the first one in form, is held outside the main area of the mosque, and is not turned into a habit, then such a second congregation is permissible. Otherwise, it should be avoided.

مأخَذُ الفَتوی

ففي حاشية ابن عابدين (رد المحتار): (قوله بأذان وإقامة إلخ) عبارته في الخزائن: أجمع مما هنا ونصها: يكره تكرار الجماعة في مسجد محلة بأذان وإقامة، إلا إذا صلى بهما فيه أولا غير أهله، لو أهله لكن بمخافتة الأذان، ولو كرر أهله بدونهما أو كان مسجد طريق جاز إجماعا (إلى قوله) ولنا «أنه - عليه الصلاة والسلام - كان خرج ليصلح بين قوم فعاد إلى المسجد وقد صلى أهل المسجد فرجع إلى منزله فجمع أهله وصلى» ولو جاز ذلك لما اختار الصلاة في بيته على الجماعة في المسجد ولأن في الإطلاق هكذا تقليل الجماعة معنى، فإنهم لا يجتمعون إذا علموا أنهم لا تفوتهم. وأما مسجد الشارع فالناس فيه سواء لا اختصاص له بفريق دون فريق اهـ (1/ 553) واللہ اعلم بالصواب