Issue No. 1285- It is recommended to observe the following in a congregation with the hope of gaining divine reward:1- If there is only one male follower, it is mustaḥab that he stands at the right hand side of the imam, a little behind him, and if there is only one female follower, she will stand at the right hand side of the imam, but slightly behind so that when she goes to sajdah, her head is in line with imam’s knees or where he stands. And if there is one male, and one female or more females in the congregation, the male will position himself to the right of the imam, and the females will all stand behind the imam. And if there are many men or many women, they will all stand behind the imam, but if there are many men and many women, the men will stand behind the imam and the women will stand behind the male followers.2- If the imam and the follower are both women, they should stand in one line, but the imam should stand a little ahead of the followers.3- The imam should stand in the middle of the row and the learned and pious persons should stand in the first row.4- The rows of the congregation should be properly arranged, and there should be no distance between the persons who are standing in one row; their shoulders should be adjacent to one another's.5- After the recitation of “قَدْ قامَتِ الصَّلاة”, the followers should stand up and be ready for congregation.6- The imam should take into account the condition of those followers who may be weaker than others, and should not make haste, so that those who are weak can reach him, and he should not prolong rukū‘, sajdah and qunūt, except when he knows that all those who are following him are ready for such.7- While reciting sūrah al-fātiḥa and the other sūrah loudly, the imam of the congregation should make his voice loud enough such that others may hear it. However, he should not make his voice extraordinarily loud.8- If imam realises in rukū‘, that a person has just arrived and wants to follow him it is mustaḥab that he should prolong the rukū‘ a little. However, he should not prolong it more than twice as usual, although he may know that another person has also arrived to follow him.