Are Multiple Congregation Prayers for the Same Prayer in the Same Mosque Allowed?

Answered by Ustadh Salman Younas
Question: Are multiple Jammah prayers for the same Salaah (Congregation Prayers) in Hanafi Fiqh allowed? For example the Imam completes the Asr Jammah and then someone who comes in after the Imaam completes his prayer starts his own Asr Jammah and so on.
Answer: assalamu `alaykum
There are two positions in the Hanafi school on this issue:
a. That holding a second congregation in the mosque is prohibitively disliked.
b. That holding a second congregation in the mosque is permitted so long as it occurs in an area different to where the first congregation took place. [al-Kasani, Bada`i al-Sana`i; Ibn `Abidin, Radd al-Muhtar]
This second opinion was adopted by a number of scholars and is therefore a valid, followable position. This is in addition to the fact that the Hanbali school considers it permissible to hold a second a congregation. Due to the intra and inter-school difference on the issue, it should not be made a cause of dispute between individuals especially given the context we live in wherein mosque attendance is in many places not high to begin with.
Salman
Checked & Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani.