Women. It is better for women to pray in their houses than to attend congregational prayers. However, they may go to the mosque and attend the congregational prayer if they do not wear any attractive clothing or use any tempting perfume.

Conditions To Be Met by the Muezzin (the Caller to Prayer). The Messenger praised muezzin and gave them good tidings of great reward (Bukhari, "Ezan," 5). However, in order to deserve this praise and reward, they have to meet certain conditions, as follows:

Make the call to prayer for God's sake, not for wages.

Be clean from major or minor impurities.

Stand and face the qibla.

Turn his head, neck, and chest to the right upon saying: "Hayya 'ala's-salah" and to the left upon saying: "Hayya 'ala'l-falah."

Insert his index fingers into his ears so that his voice may be higher.

Raise his voice for the call, even if he is alone in the desert.

Pause between each phrase of the adhan.

Adorn the adhan with his beautiful voice and tune.

The adhan is one of the important, collective symbols of Islam, for it shows that the place in which it is called is a Muslim land. In addition, it is a declaration of Islam's basic principles.

Whoever Makes the Adhan Makes the Iqama. It is highly recommended and preferable that whoever makes the adhan makes the iqama. A man who prays alone is encouraged to make the adhan, if he did not listen to its public recitation, and should make the iqama.

The Adhan and Iqama for Women. Although some scholars state that there is no adhan or iqama for women, some maintain that women can form a congregation and pray, and that one of them can serve as the imam. However, she must stand in the middle of the first row.

The Imam. The imam must meet several conditions, as follows:

• If the congregation includes men and women, the imam must be a man.
  
• He must be well-versed in Qur'anic recitation and knowledgeable of the prayer's obligatory, necessary, and sunna acts.
  
• He should be of good character and reputation.
  
• He should be the most knowledgeable (of those present) of Islamic jurisprudence and Qur'anic recitation, have excellent qualities and character, a good voice, and a sound body.
  
• He should not have a health problem that causes him to continually lose his ablution, unless all others in the congregation have the same or a similar problem.
  
• According to scholars, anyone whose prayer is valid for himself is valid for others if he serves as the imam. However, Muslims do not like to pray behind an evildoer or an innovator.

Where the Imam and the Congregation Stand. The imam stands before the congregation. Preferably, one person stands to the imam's right. If there are two or more people, they stand behind the imam. The Messenger placed the men in front of the young boys and the women behind the young boys.

Correcting the Imam's Mistake. If the imam forgets a verse, recites incorrectly, or makes a mistake in praying, someone in the congregation should correct him, and anyone who is known to be able to correct him is preferred to stand just after the imam.

Straightening the Rows and Filling the Gaps. The imam should tell the members of the congregation, or the congregation should do so even if the imam does so, to straighten the rows and fill in any gaps before starting the prayer.

The Imam's and Congregation's Recitation. It is enough for the imam to recite al-Fatiha and another Qur'anic passage, and for the congregation to keep silent. The congregation makes all other recitations, including takbirs, the supplication before al-Fatiha, the words of glorification in ruku' and sujud, and tashahhud and calls of God's blessings and peace upon God's Messenger and his Family.

Following the Imam. Every member of the congregation must follow the imam without delay, and must not to precede him in any action during the prayer.

Putting a Partition in front of Oneself While Praying. Anything that one sets in front of himself or herself while praying qualifies as a partition, even if it is only the bed's end. The Messenger said: "When one of you prays, he should make a partition for his prayer, even if it is an arrow." (Ibrahim Canan, Hadis Ansiklopedisi [An Encyclopedia of Hadiths], Ist., 8:179) This is done so that others cannot pass in front of one who is praying. It is forbidden to pass in front of one who is praying (i.e., between the person and his or her partition). If there is no such probability, making a partition is not necessary. The partition should be close enough that there is only room enough to prostrate.

One can make a gesture to stop someone from passing in front of him or her; however, this must not of the kind that will invalidate one's prayer, like speaking. The prayer is not invalidated if a person or an animal passes in front of the one who is praying.

Joining the Congregation. Whoever joins a congregation must say the opening takbir while standing and then move directly to the act that the congregation is performing. For instance, if the congregation is prostrating one should perform the opening takbir and then prostrate. If one joins the congregation during the ruku' following any standing position (qiyam), one is considered to have performed that rak'at. If it belongs to the first rak'at, one who joins the congregation during it and completes the prayer after the imam is considered to have performed the whole prayer.

If one joins after the ruku', one is considered to have missed the rak'at or rak'ats preceding it. If one joins during the second rak'at, no matter in which prayer it occurs, after the imam gives the first salutation (to his right), one stands up and performs the first missed rak'at, reciting al-Fatiha and a Qur'anic passage, performs the ruku', sujud, and the final sitting, and ends the prayer with salutations.

If one joins after the ruku' of the second rak'at in the dawn prayer, one stands up after the imam gives the first salutation and performs the prayer completely, without, however, saying the opening takbir. If one joins the evening prayer, one follows the imam until he gives the first salutation, and then stands up, recites al-Fatiha and a Qur'anic passage, performs the ruku' and sujud, and sits. This is one's second rak'at. After reciting the tashahhud, one stands up and recites al-Fatiha and a Qur'anic passage, does the ruku' and sujud, performs the final sitting, and ends the prayer with salutations. If one joins the noon, afternoon, or late evening prayers, one follows the imam until he gives the first salutation and then stands up. One completes the prayer by performing the two first rak'ats missed as if performing a prayer of two rak'ats.

If one joins the congregation in the fourth rak'at or after the ruku' following the third rak'at, one follows the imam until he gives the first salutation and then stands up. One performs the first rak'at missed by reciting al-Fatiha and a Qur'anic passage, doing the ruku' and sujud and sits. After reciting the tashahhud, one stands up, recites al-Fatiha and a Qur'anic passage, does the ruku' and sujud, and stands up. Then one recites only al-Fatiha, does the ruku' and sujud, and sits to recite tashahhud, calls of God's blessings and peace upon the Messenger and his Family, and end the prayer by giving salutations.

If one joins the congregation after the ruku' of the last rak'at of any prayer, one has missed that prayer and, standing when the imam gives the salutation to the right, offers the prayer completely without, however, saying the opening takbir.

If one is offering the dawn (fajr) or evening (maghrib) prayer alone and people form a congregation behind an imam in the place where one is praying, and if one has not yet prostrated after the second rak'at, one must join the congregation.

If one is offering a prayer of 4 rak'ats and is offering the first rak'at, one also joins the congregation. If one is offering the second rak'at, one completes the first two rak'ats, as if performing a prayer of 2 rak'ats, and joins the congregation. If one is offering the third rak'at, one joins the congregation. If one is offering the fourth rak'at, one completes the prayer without joining the congregation.

Earth as a Mosque. A Muslim can pray anywhere, provided that the place does not have enough dirt to invalidate the prayer, has not been usurped, or belongs to one who will not allow prayer therein. This is a special blessing of God Almighty for the Muslim community. Given this, the whole Earth can serve as a mosque.
Three Most Excellent Mosques. One can pray in any mosque. However, three mosques have a particular sacredness and provide those praying within far more merit than praying in others. In order of merit and sacredness, they are the Sacred Mosque (al-Masjid al-Haram) in Makka, the Prophet's Mosque (al-Mascid al-Nabawi) in Madina, and the Masjid al-Aqsa in Quds (Jerusalem).