al-Aswad, on the authority of his father, who said: I witnessed the Hajj of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), and I prayed the Fajr prayer with him in the Masjid al-Khayf while I was a young boy. When he finished his prayer, he saw two men at the back of the people who had not prayed with him. He said: "Bring them to me." They were brought to him while they were trembling, and he said: "What prevented you two from praying with us?" They replied: "O Messenger of Allah, we have already prayed in our dwellings." He said: "Do not do that; when you have prayed in your dwellings, then come to a mosque where there is a congregation and pray with them, for it is a supererogatory prayer (nafilah) for you." It was narrated by Abu Dawud, al-Tirmidhi (5), and al-Athram (6).
Malik narrated in al-Muwatta' (7) on the authority of Zayd ibn Aslam, on the authority of Busr ibn Mihjan, on the authority of his father, that he was sitting with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) when the prayer was called. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) stood and prayed, then returned while Mihjan was still in his seat. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "What prevented you from praying with the people? Are you not a Muslim man?" He said: "Yes, O Messenger of Allah, but I have already prayed with my family." The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "When you come, pray with the people, even if you have already prayed." On the authority of Abu Dharr, he said: "My intimate friend—meaning the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)—instructed me to pray the prayer at its proper time, 'and if you catch it (8) with them, then pray, for it is a supererogatory prayer for you.'"
(5) Narrated by Abu Dawud, in: The Chapter on the one who prays in his house then catches the congregation and prays with them, from the Book of Prayer. Sunan Abi Dawud 1/136. And al-Tirmidhi, in: The Chapter on what has been said regarding a man who prays alone then catches the congregation, from the Chapters of Prayer. Aridat al-Ahwadhi 2/18-19. It was also narrated by al-Nasa'i, in: The Chapter on repeating the Fajr prayer with the congregation for someone who has prayed alone, from the Book of Leadership (al-Imamah). al-Mujtaba 2/87. And al-Darimi, in: The Chapter on repeating prayers in congregation after having prayed in one's house, from the Book of Prayer. Sunan al-Darimi 1/317-318. And Imam Ahmad, in: al-Musnad 4/160-161. (6) In M: "And he said a hasan sahih hadith." (7) In: The Chapter on repeating the prayer with the Imam, from the Book of Congregation. al-Muwatta' 1/132. It was also narrated by al-Nasa'i, in: The Chapter on repeating the prayer with the congregation after a man has prayed by himself, from the Book of Leadership. al-Mujtaba 2/87. And Imam Ahmad, in: al-Musnad 4/34. (8) In the original: "adraktuka". In al-Mujtaba: "adrakta".
