Not Joining the Mosque Congregation and Praying Alone

Question

The congregation stood up for the prayer. A certain person avoids praying behind the imam and, apart from the congregation, stood separately to perform his own fard prayer. He was forbidden [to do so and told]: “Perform your fard prayer after the congregation or before it.” He replied that no difference or deficiency had occurred in his prayer, and he claims the ruling is that no difference occurs in his prayer; and the other worshippers quarrel with the imam. Kindly inform us of the answer.

Answer

When the fard prayer is being performed in congregation in the correct manner, performing one’s own prayer separately is, according to the Shari‘a, extremely prohibited and disliked; opposing the congregation is not permitted — the books of fiqh state this explicitly. This person must desist from this conduct of his.

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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