What to read to the imam during jamaat prayer. Collective prayer. Mosque. Rules of behavior in the mosque. Conditions and procedure for following the imam

08:16 2017

Performing five daily prayers is fard - mandatory action for all Muslims. It is beneficial for both men and women to perform it collectively. Many hadiths of Muhammad (PBUH) speak about the merits of such prayer, who advised especially men to pray together and thus not deprive themselves of the additional reward of the Almighty.

The Prophet (PBUH) himself tried to follow this rule and therefore always prayed in the mosque with other Muslims.

For men, collective prayer is always Sunnah, and for women it is not obligatory, but an approved action.

As for the duties of the imam - the leader of the prayer - they should only be performed by a man. A woman can also be an imam, but only in a circle of women praying. If men take part in collective prayer, then she does not have the right to lead this prayer.

Is it obligatory for the jamaat to pray to the family?

Sheikh Ibn Baz (may Allah bestow His mercy on him) said: “You can sometimes perform voluntary prayers, such as night standing, Duha prayer, sometimes you can perform sunan-rawatib (sunnas that are after or before obligatory prayers) with the jamaat (in a team) with his household, children, wife, etc., as the prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) did. He performed namaz in the house of Anas, with Anas and the orphan behind him, and Umm Sulaym who stood behind them. He (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) also performed the Spiritual prayer collectively (jamaat) in the house of ‘Utban when he visited it. You can do this.

However, if you missed obligatory prayer, i.e. did not perform it in jamaat in the mosque, due to illness, or for any other reason, and returned home, then you can perform namaz with your family, children in jamaat. But at the same time, you need to know that you cannot leave prayer at the jamaat in the mosque. You and your children, you all should mandatory perform namaz in the mosque jamaat. Since the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “Whoever heard the call to prayer and did not come (to perform it), there will be no such prayer, unless he has a reason...” (From the website of Sheikh Ibn Baz).

From this fatwa it is clear that men must perform obligatory prayer in mosques with a jamaat. Also, the sheikh says that a person can perform namaz, both obligatory, if he missed it for a reason and did not perform it in the mosque, or voluntary at home with his household members in the jamaat. However, the question remains: will a person receive an additional reward for this prayer performed at home with his household members or not?

It is reported from the words of Abu Hurairah, may Allah be pleased with him, that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “Common prayer exceeds the prayer (of a person performed) by him at home or in the market by twenty-five times, for, verily , if one of you performs ablution properly and then comes to the mosque with the sole purpose of praying, then for every step he takes, Allah will certainly raise him one degree and remove one sin from him until he will enter the mosque. And when (a person) enters there, (it will be considered that) he is busy with prayer all the time while he waits for it to begin, and the angels will continue to pray to Allah to have mercy on him all the time while he remains at the place of performing his prayer, saying: “O Allah, forgive him, O Allah, show him Your mercy until he becomes defiled!” (Al-Bukhari, 477, Muslim and others). There is disagreement among scholars regarding prayer not performed in a mosque. So, some said that this means prayer performed alone, without jamaat. Others said that this is prayer performed outside the mosque with the jamaat or alone.

The preferred opinion in this matter is the first opinion, namely, that it refers to prayer performed alone. Therefore, whoever performs namaz at home with the jamaat with his household members or guests, he deserves the reward of the jamaat. However, this reward is not equal to the reward of prayer performed by the jamaat in the mosque. Thus, prayer performed outside the mosque by the jamaat is better than prayer performed alone.

Thus, Imam An-Nawawi (may Allah bestow His mercy on him) said: “By the words of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him): “Common prayer is superior to the prayer (a person performs) at home or in the market” means prayer, done alone at home or in the market. This is the correct opinion." (Sharh Sahih Muslim, An-Nawawi). Indeed, in most cases, a person who does not perform namaz in the mosque already performs it at home alone, because... the rest should have already performed it in the jamaat. Thus, the prayer performed at home with members of the household by the jamaat is better than the prayer performed alone.

Performing collective prayer (jamaat prayer) is one of the features of the community (ummah) of our Prophet Muhammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. The first of the sons of Adam to perform jamaat prayer is our venerable Prophet Muhammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. For the first time, collective prayer was performed in Mecca. Due to the persecution of non-believers and the weakness of Islam at that time, it was carried out secretly. After the migration of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and his followers from Mecca to Medina, it began to be performed openly.

Said in Holy Quran(Meaning):

وَارْكَعُواْ مَعَ الرَّاكِعِينَ …

“...bow down together with those who kneel in joint prayer before Me in order to receive rewards for prayers...” (Sura Al-Baqarah, verse 43 Tafsirulul Muntahab).

It is reported from the words of Abu Hurayrah, radiallahu anhu, that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said:“I swear by the one in whose hand my soul is,(it happened that) I wanted to order to collect firewood, then order to call people to prayer, then order someone to be an imam, and then appear to the people, (who did not come to prayer) and burn their houses to the ground! I swear by the one in whose hand my soul is, if any of them knew that he would receive a bone with a piece of fatty meat or a pair of good sheep’s hooves here, he would certainly come to evening prayer!” (al-Bukhari).

According to the madhhab of Imam al-Shafi'i, performing jamaat prayer is farz-ul-kifayat (i.e., an obligation that must be performed by at least two people from the jamaat). If the jamaat prayer is performed in such a way that people do not know about it, the farz-ul-kifayat of the collective prayer is considered not to be fulfilled. If from the residents of a certain settlement no one will perform jamaat prayer, or if they perform it in secret, the obligation assigned to all residents of this locality is considered not fulfilled, and they all fall into sin.

There are quite a lot of hadiths about the merits of jamaat prayer, but if a person who truly fears his Lord, loves His Messenger, sal Allahu alayhi wasallam, and recognizes his prophecy, reads at least one of these hadiths, he will understand what place jamaat occupies -namaz in Islam and what attention is paid to it. For reasonable person Even this hadith alone would be enough. In the hadith of the Prophet, alayhi ssalatu wasallam, transmitted from Tirmidhi, it is said: “Whoever performs 40 days of namaz in jamaat, having time for the first call of “Allahu Akbar” to enter namaz together with the imam (i.e. starting namaz immediately after the imam ) “Allah Almighty writes down two salvations for him: from Hell and from hypocrisy.”.

A true Muslim, having cleansed himself of hypocrisy, in the future also cannot sit at home and not go to jamaat prayer. Ibn Mas'ud said: “The companions of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, considered the person who does not come to the jamaat to be a clear hypocrite.” From the words of this great companion it follows that all the companions of our Prophet, alayhi ssalatu wasallam, considered performing jamaat prayer a sign of a person’s sincere faith. The performance of Friday and Jamaat prayers by a Muslim is the most big sign, testifying to a person’s faith in Allah. Even if a hypocrite participates in collective prayer out of fear or for another reason, then there is a high probability that he will die a sincere believer in the Almighty thanks to the grace of Muslim prayer. Another hadith of our Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, says: “If the one who does not come to collective prayer knew what reward the one who performs prayer collectively receives, then he would come to the jamaat prayer, even if he had to crawl "(Hadith reported by Tabarani).

The Prophet, alayhi ssalatu wasallam, said: “Namaz performed in jamaat surpasses(in remuneration) 27 times the prayer that is performed alone"(al-Bukhari). Another hadith says that one day a blind man came to the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and asked permission to skip the jamaat prayer, since there was no one who could show him the way. The Prophet, alayhi ssalatu wasallam, allowed him to stay at home. But when he was about to leave, the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said: “Do you hear the call to prayer?” He replied: "Yes". The Prophet, alayhi salam, said: “Then you come to prayer”.

Think for yourself, dear brothers, if the Prophet, alayhi ssalatu wasallam, did not allow even a blind person to stay at home, would he allow him to stay at home? healthy people Of course not. If we neglect what the Messenger of Allah, sallallahu alayhi wasallam, paid such attention to, will this not be neglecting his Sunnah? Will such distance from the path of the Prophet, alayhi salam, lead a person to a bad end?

Another hadith of the Prophet, alayhi ssalatu wasallam, says: “...You try to perform namaz in the jamaat. Verily, the wolf will carry away the sheep that strays from the flock.". Commenting on this hadith, the scholars say: “The person who does not perform namaz in jamaat is possessed by shaitan (devil)”. There is no doubt that after the shaitan takes possession of a person, he will lead him along his road straight to Hell. Dear brothers, think about what fruits can be given to us by neglecting what the Messenger of Allah, alayhi ssalatu wasallam, and his Sunnah said?

When the Salafu-salihin (righteous Muslims who lived during the time of the Prophet, alayhi salam) were late or did not have time for the jamaat prayer, they considered it a misfortune or a hasty punishment from Allah Almighty for some sin. One day, the son of Umar Abdullah, radiallahu anhu, did not make it to night prayer with jamaat. To correct his guilt, that night he prayed until the morning. It so happened that one of the Salafu-salihins missed the jamaat prayer while working in the garden. He gave away the garden that caused the omission as alms for the poor. There are many such examples, but for a reasonable person this is enough.

The question may arise: what is the reason for exalting jamaat prayer so much? Why does jamaat prayer exceed prayer performed alone by 27 times? First of all When Muslims come to the mosque for jamaat prayer, they find themselves visiting Allah Almighty. And the Almighty commanded us, His servants, to show honor to the guests, and the Lord Himself will also honor His servant, who came to the mosque with pure intention. Even if there were no other merits of congregational prayer performed in the mosque, this alone would be enough. Secondly When Muslims come to the mosque for jamaat prayer, they communicate with each other and friendships between them are strengthened. Third, while the one who does not know receives knowledge from the one who knows. Fourthly, the likelihood that prayer will be accepted by the Almighty increases, because people have different degrees of worship, and because of the grace of the people chosen by the Almighty, the worship of others is also accepted. Fifthly, just as a guilty slave, in order to ask for forgiveness from his master, sends people to him, so the one who prays is the one who asks for forgiveness from Allah, and when he comes to jamaat prayer, he, as it were, gathers people for intercession before Allah Almighty. At sixth, prayer can be compared to setting a table, and a noble person will not set his table except for the jamaat (group of people). Seventh, After jamaat prayer, leaving the mosque, Muslims talk to each other about their problems and give each other advice. This also strengthens the friendship between them. Eighth, in the mosque, in addition to the reward for the worship that a Muslim performs, he can receive a reward for i’tikaf (the intention to worship Allah while in the mosque), if, of course, there is a corresponding intention. In the ninth, Such a unification of Muslims frightens non-believers and they say that if Muslims always united by performing jamaat prayers or attending other similar majlises (meetings), Islam would not be weakened. We must not forget that if we do not behave properly in the mosque, instead of reward we will earn the wrath of Allah Almighty.

Reward for performing prayer in a group

The most rewarding congregational prayer is the Jumuah prayer, then the Friday morning prayer, then the night, afternoon, lunch and evening prayers. A collective prayer with more people is better than one with fewer people. A prayer performed behind a God-fearing alim is better than one performed behind an ignoramus. It is better for a man to perform prayer in a mosque, and for a woman - at home. If you perform prayer separately from the group, you will not receive full reward. These are people who do not follow the Sunnah of the Prophet, salla Allahu alaihi wasallam, they have a chance to stray from the truth, Satan has power over them and, like a wolf kills a sheep that has strayed from the flock, it destroys such a person. This is a great misfortune. It will be easier for him to pour molten lead into his ears than to miss the collective prayer.

May Allah grant us taufiq to constantly perform jamaat prayers in mosques, so that the Almighty will be pleased with us and our deeds! Amine.

And another question related to the first: recently my friends and I missed Zuhr prayer. When we arrived at the mosque and began to read it in the jamaat, a man joined us who decided that we were reading the Asr prayer. Will his prayer be valid?

2) If the imam, or the person who leads the prayer, reads the Koran (in particular, Surah Al-Fatihah) with errors, is it possible to pray behind him? I have heard that a person who reads the Qur'an well should not pray behind an imam who recites the Qur'an with errors.

3) If the collective prayer in the mosque has already ended, can people who were late for it gather their own jamaat and perform the same prayer with the jamaat again? This often happens in our mosques - brothers who are late for the general prayer gather and read this prayer with their jamaat. I was told that it is impossible to do this - you cannot read the same prayer several times in the jamaat in the same mosque.

The prayer of the person who joined you (thinking that you are saying Asr prayer when you performed the missed Dhuhr prayer) will not be valid because he had the intention of performing Asr prayer, and these are two different prayers.

2) Regarding the reading of prayer for the person who reads the Koran with errors. Books on fiqh especially emphasize that the person who can best read the Quran should lead the prayer. This is based on a hadith narrated by Abdullah ibn Masood (may Allah be pleased with him), who reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said:

The person who recites the Qur'an best should lead the prayer. If there are several people who read the Quran equally well, you need to choose the one who knows the Sunnah better. If several people know it equally well, they choose the one who performed hijrah (migration) first among them. If they are equal in this matter, they choose the one who is older, but if they are the same age, they choose the one who has the best character. If they are equal in this, then they choose the one who is more attractive in appearance.

This rule relates to the question of who is more worthy to be the imam in prayer. This does not mean that a person’s prayer will be invalid if he reads the prayer behind an imam who does not read the Quran as well as himself.

Yes, if a person makes gross mistakes when reading the Koran, which change the meaning of words due to incorrect pronunciation, the question of the invalidity of prayer may already arise. But on this basis, it is impossible to make a general decision on the invalidity of the prayer; each situation must be considered separately - in order to determine exactly what mistakes were made and whether they make the prayer invalid or not.

3) As for the repeated recitation of the same prayer by the jamaat in the same mosque, the scholars have ruled that this is blameworthy (makrooh). If a group of people comes to the mosque when the main jamaat has already completed the prayer, they should pray individually, without reading the azan and iqama (Al-Mabsut, Imam Sarahsi, volume 1, page 135, al-Mawsu'a, volume 12, p. 229).

This refers to a mosque in general, such as a mosque in one district or city where there is a designated imam and there are fixed times for adhan and iqama.

The scholars made this decision based on a hadith narrated by Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him), who reports that the Messenger of Allah (sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam) once went to resolve some issue among the Ansar. When he returned to the mosque after that, it turned out that the jamaat had already performed prayer. Then he went home, gathered his family and prayed with them (Al-Mabsut of Imam Sarakhsi, vol. 1, p. 135).

Considering this hadith, scholars believe that if it were not reprehensible (to pray a second time in jamaat), the Prophet (sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam) would have performed this prayer in the mosque and would have invited several companions to join him in prayer (Al-Mawsua , volume 12, page 229).

Among the reasons why it is reprehensible (makruh) to gather a jamaat for a second time, scholars say that people will begin to neglect the main jamaat, and the main jamaat of the mosque will become smaller. If such a second collective prayer begins to be held regularly, people will no longer come to the main prayer with the jamaat, but will count on the second jamaat (Al-Mausua, volume 12, p. 230).

I personally saw this happen in mosques where the presence of a second jamaat was allowed. Those who were accustomed to coming to the beginning of prayer with the main jamaat stopped coming to the general prayer when they noticed that there was a second jamaat. Eventually, a second jamaat was formed in the mosque, almost the same size as the first. This undermines the significance of the mosque and the importance of congregational prayer.

However, the above rule does not apply to mosques that are built on roads especially for travelers, where there is no fixed time for adhan and iqamat (Al-Mawsua, vol. 12, p. 229), since these mosques were built for the convenience of people passing by, so that they could perform their prayers along the way.

And Allah knows best.

Question: Assalamu alaikum! Please tell us how to properly perform collective prayer, my sister and I do prayer at home together, what needs to be said together and what should be said by one of us, he will describe in more detail if possible.....And if you can comment on this statement, is it true: “... And it’s quite difficult to perform an individual prayer so that the Almighty will accept it...” Taken from the book “Great Sins” - Muhamamd-Khadzhi Gadzhiev, Makhachkala 2006.

Answer:
In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful. All praise be to Allah the Almighty, peace and blessings be upon His Messenger. Thanks for the question.

1. Regarding the permissibility of a woman being an imam for other women.
It is known that the mother of the faithful, Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her), read prayer in the jamaat with other women, and was an imam along with them, and Umm Salama and Umm Weraqa (companion), may Allah be pleased with them, did the same - all they prayed at home with other companions, and were imams, standing in the same row. (narrated by al Bayhaqi).

Ibn Omar, as well as Anas and many others, believed that it was not obligatory for women to say the words of iqama. Ash-Shafi'i, Ishaq and Imam Ahmad believed that they could. However, it is known that Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) spoke the words of Iqama (al Bayhaqi).
Apart from this, we don't know anything.
Allah knows best.

2. The Messenger of Allah said: “In a village, or even at a rest stop in the desert, there should not be even three people who do not pray together, otherwise the Shaitan will defeat them. Therefore, it is a covenant for you to pray together, because the wolf eats up the stray sheep." (narrated by Ahmad and Daoud). It is also known that collective prayer is 25 times greater than individual prayer.

If two believers want to pray together, then one of them, according to the hadith of the prophet (SAAS), must be an imam (leader of prayer). The imam does not have to nominate himself; he is elected. Preference is always given to the owner of the house (if you are visiting), the eldest in age and the one who knows the Koran better. However, the chosen one can give up his place, if he wishes, to someone else.

The second (not the imam) reads the words of the iqama, and, in your case, stands to the right of the imam. You stand in one row, so as to touch each other.
After pronouncing the iqama, all conversations stop. The imam pronounces takbir (the words “Allahu akbar”) and begins the prayer, performing it as he usually does, only he pronounces each takbir out loud.
Straightening up after making a bow - ruku, the imam says out loud: “Samia Allah li man hamida” - “Allah listens to the one who praises Him.” The one who prays behind the imam does it as usual, but repeats the words to herself “al Fatihi”, if the imam reads it out loud and repeats all the movements after the imam with some “lag”, that is, not simultaneously. She repeats all the words after the imam, but not out loud, but to myself.
At the end, the imam pronounces the words of the taslim out loud: “As salalu alaikum wa rahmatullah,” and when the imam has already performed the second taslim, only then does the other one make the first taslim.

Regarding whether those praying behind the imam are obliged to read “al-Fatiha” if the imam reads it out loud, theologians have differing opinions. However, many of the modern scholars, including Sheikh Ibn Baz, prefer the opinion that Al Fatiha is read by every worshiper in every rak'ah.

Even if you did not have time to read the surah, and the imam has already said takbir, then you still follow the imam.

Read aloud: two rakats of al-Fajr prayer, two rakats of al-Maghrib, and two rakats of al-Isha prayer.

Iqama words: (pronounced quickly)
"Allahu akbar, Allahu akbar, ashhadu alla ilaha illa-Allah, ashhadu anna Muhammad rrasulu Allah, haya ala salat, haya ala salat, haya ala ala fallah, haya ala ala fallah, kad kamatissalatu kadkamatissala, kd ikamati fallah, Allahu akbar, Allahu akbar, la ilaha illa - Allah"
Translation: Allah is supreme. I testify that there is no god but Allah. I testify that Muhammad is the messenger of Allah. Hurry to prayer. Hurry to salvation. There is no god but Allah.

3. Regarding the statement: “...And it is quite difficult to perform an individual prayer so that the Almighty would accept it...”-Obviously, this means that if one of the worshipers has accepted the prayer, then everyone else has accepted it.

May your prayers be accepted by Allah Almighty!

Our religion gives great importance performing namaz together with a group of Muslims (jama'atom). When performing collective prayers, Muslims become closer to each other. A person who does not have knowledge takes advantage of the knowledge of others, acquiring good habits and, over time, abandoning bad ones. Staying in a jamaat improves relationships, strengthens love, a sense of brotherhood and mutual assistance between Muslims.

The reward for prayer performed collectively is 27 times greater than for prayer performed individually. This is stated in the hadith: “For prayer performed collectively, the reward is 27 times greater than for prayer performed individually”. “The one who performed the night prayer together with the jamaat is like the one who performed the midnight prayer, and the one who performed the morning prayer collectively is as if he performed the prayer all night.”, says another hadith of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him).

In addition, prayer performed individually may not be accepted by the Almighty due to our omissions in it. But Allah accepts prayer performed together with a group out of respect for the jamaat, which has gathered for prayer for His sake. Therefore, one should try to perform all obligatory prayers together with the team. This can be either in the mosque or elsewhere.

The reasons for not attending collective prayer are:

Unfavorable weather (heavy rain, wind, impassable dirt on the streets, unbearable heat or cold); if a person experiences severe hunger (thirst) and food is ready; with a progressive disease and if there is a risk of losing the functionality of any organ of the body; if the creditor harasses; if a person is hiding from arrest or wants to avoid punishment; if you ate something with unpleasant smell(for example, garlic); if you have to care for a sick person (who has no one to care for); if a person is blind and there is no one to accompany him; if you need to wash the deceased, wrap him in a shroud, bury him; if a person lags behind his companions on the way; during an earthquake; if a person experiences desire sleep; in the first seven nights after marriage, if you marry a virgin, and three nights in the opposite case, you do not have to attend the collective evening and night prayers.

During collective prayer, one person stands in front (imam), and the other (mammum) or a number of worshipers stand behind the imam in even rows and follow him in actions. If only two men perform the congregational prayer, the one following the imam stands slightly behind the imam on his right side.

Conditions and procedure for following the imam

You cannot perform namaz: behind an imam whose namaz is invalid (if this is known for sure); for those who cannot read Al-Fatihah; for a man - for a woman; for those who deliberately perform extra rakats. Also, you cannot stand even a little in front of the imam; If you arbitrarily get ahead or lag behind the imam in actions by two hands (not verbal), then the prayer is violated. It is sinful to be one hand ahead of the imam.

When performing prayer behind the imam, you should: stand behind the imam; pronounce the opening takbir after the imam pronounces the takbir; have the intention in your heart to follow the imam. For example: “I intend to perform the obligatory midday prayer, following the imam, for the sake of Allah.”; it is necessary to wait until the imam moves to the next position in prayer, and then move to the same position. You cannot be ahead of the imam in your actions in prayer. If the mamum unintentionally gets ahead of the imam in his actions, then he returns to his original position and waits until the imam performs this action, and then follows him.

Mammums should not lag far behind the imam in their actions. Being one rukn behind the imam is frowned upon (makruh). If mammum without good reason (‘uzru) lags behind the imam in more than two actions, then his prayer is violated, but if he cannot read quickly objective reasons (‘uzru), for example, due to stuttering, he is allowed to fall behind by three long hands (Except for straightening after a bow from the waist (i‘tidal) and sitting between both bows to the ground, all other arcana of prayer are long). That is, for example, if he, having good reasons, did not have time to read Surah Al-Fatihah and follow the imam in a bow, then he must finish reading Al-Fatiha before the imam rises from the second bow, and make a bow, and then continue to follow the imam . Therefore, it is advisable to perform each action immediately after the imam.

The imam, in turn, notes in intention that he is performing namaz as an imam, loudly pronounces the introductory takbir and takbir at the beginning of each action, loudly reads Surah Al-Fatihah (as well as another sura or verse after it) in the first two rakats morning, evening, night and Friday obligatory prayers and some other recommended prayers performed collectively. At the end of the reading of Surah Al-Fatihah, the imam all together say “Amin, I am Rabbal-‘alamin,” then the mammums read Surah Al-Fatihah after it to themselves. At the time when mammums read Surah Al-Fatihah in these prayers, the imam silently reads some surah or verse of the Koran of approximately the same duration as Al-Fatihah, or reads a dua.

The imam also loudly pronounces “Sami’Allahu liman hamidah” when straightening up after bowing from the waist and, completing the prayer, loudly pronounces the final “Salam”.

The imam also reads the Qunut prayer aloud (in plural, see Appendix 7) V morning prayer, the mothers listen to him and say “Amin” after each pause, until the expression “Fainnaka takzy valya yukza ‘alaika...”. Starting from this expression and further, the mammum reads the prayer together with the imam to himself. After this, everyone says “Amin” together and then continues the prayer as usual.

Negative actions when performing collective prayer

The prolongation of prayer by the imam without the consent of the community is condemned. It is not advisable for mamumu to perform the actions of prayer simultaneously with the imam, also to stand further than one and a half meters from the imam, to stand separately from the row or in the back row without filling the previous one. If they (the imam and the mammum) pray together, then it is not advisable for the mammum to stand to the left of the imam, or directly behind him.

All this prevents people from receiving full reward for collective prayer. If there is a row free place, you need to stand there, and if not, then ask someone from this row to join you. Having first entered prayer, you need to pull the person in front of you to the row, but if you are not sure that this person will form a row with you, then you can stand alone. It is advisable for the imam and mamum to stand on level ground. But if necessary, you can stand one higher and the other lower.

The procedure for performing collective prayer for those who are late for its start

A latecomer can be called someone who came to a collective prayer when there was not enough time left to read Surah Al-Fatihah before the imam left for a bow, or joined a collective prayer when the imam performed a bow, straightening after it, prostration or read “Tashahhud”, etc., before the imam pronounced the first final “Salam”.
If a latecomer managed to perform any part of the collective prayer, then he receives the corresponding reward for the collective prayer, but not in full.

What should a latecomer do?

The latecomer enters the prayer after making an intention and then follows the imam in action.
If the imam finishes reading Al-Fatihah, and the one following him just begins to read it, then when the imam finishes reading and makes a bow, the next imam stops reading and follows him. He should not finish reading Surah Al-Fatihah.

If the imam makes a bow, then the one following the imam also makes a bow. This entire rak'ah will be counted towards him if he managed to be in the position of a bow with the imam for a period of time sufficient to pronounce “Subhanallah” until the imam straightened up after him. If you didn’t have time, then this rak’ah (cycle) is not counted. He needs to perform this rak'ah completely after the imam completes the prayer. If the imam was in a position after bowing: standing, prostrating, or sitting, then the one following the imam takes the same position as the imam, but this rak'ah is not counted towards him. He needs to perform it after the imam completes his prayer. If a latecomer joined the imam when he was reciting the last Tashahhud, then he follows the imam, but after the imam completes the prayer, he needs to perform the prayer completely.

If the leader of the prayer does not intend to perform the prayer as an imam, then he misses the reward for the collective prayer. However, his prayer is considered valid, except in the case of Friday prayer.