his companion, he feared that he might enter into the prayer behind the row. He said: This is not like that; the latter case refers to the prayer in its entirety, or having prayed a full rak'ah, and the like. As for this, I hope there is no harm in it. If a man enters the state of ihram behind the row, and then a man leaves the row and stands with him, it is valid, due to what we mentioned.

Section: If the follower says the takbir to the right of the Imam, then another comes and says the takbir to his left, the Imam moves them behind him, just as the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) did with Jabir and Jabbar. The Imam does not move forward, unless there is narrow space behind him. If he does move forward, it is permissible. If the second says the takbir with the first to the right and they move, it is permissible. If the second enters while they are in the tashahhud, [he says the takbir and sits to the right of his companion, or to his left, and they do not move back during the tashahhud], for there is hardship in that.

Section: If two people enter the state of ihram behind the Imam, and one of them leaves due to an excuse, or without an excuse, the other enters the row, or alerts a man who then leaves with him, or he moves forward and stands to the right of the Imam. If none of these is possible for him, he intends to pray alone and completes it alone, because this is an excuse that has befallen him, so it is similar to the case where the Imam is overtaken by hadath (ritual impurity).

Section: When the follower enters and finds a gap in the row, he enters it. If he does not find one, he stands to the right of the Imam. It is not recommended for him to pull a man so that he stands with him. If that is not possible for him, he alerts a man, who then comes out and stands with him. This is the opinion of Ata' and al-Nakha'i; they said: He pulls a man and he stands with him. Malik and al-Awza'i disliked this, and Ahmad and Ishaq considered it distasteful.