• Congregation: Offering a missed prayer — the proper approach
If one has missed Asr prayer and joined the imam in the mosque for Maghrib prayers, how should he approach his prayers?
If you [offer your prayers regularly but] have missed Asr prayer for a legitimate reason, such as oversleeping or loss of consciousness, and you want to offer it with Maghrib, try to offer it before the iqamah for Maghrib is called. If it has already been called, then you have to join the congregation and offer Asr. When the imam finishes Maghrib prayer, you rise up to add one Rak'ah to complete your prayer to four Rak'ahs, and then you offer Maghrib normally. It is not proper in such cases to start with Maghrib prayers and offer Asr afterwards. You have to offer prayers in their correct order.
• Congregation: When imam missed ablution
After completing the congregational prayer one evening, the imam stood up and announced that he had just remembered that he did not do his ablution. He told the congregation to repeat their prayers. This led to much confusion with some people arguing that their prayer was correct and valid. About half of the congregation repeated their prayer while the other half left. Who was right?
The imam need not have mentioned anything about his earlier forgetfulness. The prayer of the congregation is correct. Those who left the mosque without repeating it were correct, because their prayer was valid. Those who repeated the prayer, will, Allah willing, be rewarded for it as a voluntary prayer. It is needless to say that the imam himself must repeat his prayer.
It is reported that Umar ibn Al Khattab once lead the dawn prayer. After he left, he discovered the traces of a wet dream on his clothes. He took a shower and repeated his prayer, without ordering any one in the congregation to repeat their prayers. This incident is also reported of Uthman ibn Affan. When he discovered the traces, he said: "I have indeed grown old. I have indeed grown old." He meant that in his old age, he could not remember having had a wet dream. He repeated his prayer ordering no one to repeat theirs.
• Congregation: Who should lead the prayer?
What are the criteria to choose someone to lead a congregational prayer? If you enter a mosque and find that in the absence of the regular imam, someone is leading the prayer whom you know to be unsuitable, should you join them or not?
If a group of people is offering prayer together, they should choose someone from among them to lead the prayer. The one to be chosen is the one who recites the Qur'an best or the one who has learned more of the Qur'an by heart. If two people are of the same ability in this respect, then the elder of the two is to be chosen. No one may lead 'another in his own home' or place of authority without the latter's permission.
What this means is that if two or three people are offering prayer in the home of any one of them, then the house owner or occupier should lead the prayer, unless he permits one of them to lead. Moreover, it is the congregation who chooses the imam, not the imam who imposes himself on them.
From another point of view, it is permissible that a young boy leads a group of adults in prayer, and a blind man leads a group of people all of whom enjoy a good eyesight. There is nothing wrong if either the imam or the one being led by him offers his prayer seated for a good reason, nor with either of them having had dry ablution while the other having had normal ablution. Either the imam or the one following him may be a traveler or offering voluntary prayers while the other is resident or offering obligatory prayer. Again, the imam may be a person who has a lesser standing in society than the people being led by him. All such situations are acceptable.
If you come to the mosque and you find that the congregation is being led by someone whose conduct leaves something to be desired, you should join the prayer because it remains valid. It is much better that you show that you are one of the group than to pray alone. Moreover, if you had offered your obligatory prayer and went into a mosque or joined some people in a certain place and you found the people were about to offer the same obligatory prayer you have offered, you should join them. You must not appear to be isolating yourself from a congregation. Such a situation is liable to raise questions about your decision.
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