Darul Uloom Trinidad & Tobago

Question:

A person reaches in time for Fajr Salaah to join the Jamaat but did not perform his Sunnah and joined the Jamaat. Immediately afterwards he then performed his Sunnah after the Farz, is this permissible? Is there any proof or Hadith that proves that it can be done this way?

Answer:

If one missed the two Sunnah Rakaahs before the Fajr Farz Salaah and joined the Jamaat then it would not be permissible for him to perform these Sunnah Rakaahs immediately after the Farz Salaah. Instead he should perform them after the sunrise.

There is no proof nor any hadith to prove the permissibility of what you have done. In fact, performing the two sunnah immediately after the Farz is in contradiction to the sunnah of the Prophet (S.A.S) as well as the practice of the Sahabahs. A hadith recorded by Imam Tirmizi which has been graded as Saheeh (sound) mentions that Abu Huraira (R.A.) narrates that the Prophet (S.A.S.) said, ‘Whoever did not perform the two rakaats (sunnah) of Fajr, then let him perform it after the sun has risen.

Another narration recorded by Ibn Abi Shaiba and is graded as Hasan (good) mentions that Nafi narrates that Abdullah bin Umar (R.A.) once missed the two sunnah of Fajr Salaah and then performd them after the sun had started to shine.

Another narration recorded by Imam Tahawi with a Saheeh (sound) chain of narration mentions that Abu Mijlaz said, ‘I once entered the masjid with Ibn Umar and Ibn Abbas and the Imam was in the Farz Salaah of the Fajr prayer. Seeing this, Ibn Umar joined the lines and prayed with the Imam. As for Ibn Abbas, he performed his two rakaats of sunnah and then joined the Imam. When the Imam completed the Farz Salaah, Ibn Umar sat in his place until the sun had risen and then stood up and performed his two rakaats of sunnah.

Along with these narrations, many other traditions can be cited to show that performing one’s missed sunnah rakaats (of Fajr) is not permissible immediately after the Farz. Instead one should wait until the sun has risen and may then perform it.

And Allah knows best.
Mufti Waseem Khan