How Should Two People Pray Together? How Does a Latecomer Join?

Answered by Ustadh Tabraze Azam

Question

1. How should two people praying together stand?

2. If a latecomer joins the prayer, what should they do?

Answer

I pray that this message finds you well, insha’Allah.

The basis is that the imam should stand in front of the congregation. However, if there is only one person other than the imam, he should stand to the right, ensuring his heel is behind that of the imam.

If another person then joins, the imam should step forward, or the followers should step back.

I’d advise also taking the following free course: Absolute Essentials of Islam: Basic Hanafi Jurisprudence (STEP)

And Allah alone knows best.

wassalam,
[Ustadh] Tabraze Azam
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Ustadh Tabraze Azam holds a BSc in Computer Science from the University of Leicester, where he also served as the President of the Islamic Society. He memorized the entire Qur’an in his hometown of Ipswich at the tender age of sixteen, and has since studied the Islamic Sciences in traditional settings in the UK, Jordan, and Turkey. He is currently pursuing advanced studies in Jordan, where he is presently based with his family.