May One Abandon The Sunnah Of Fajr Prayer In Order To Catch Up With The Congregation?

May one abandon the sunnah of fajr prayer in order to catch up with the congregation?

The two-rakat prayer established before the fardh of fajr is the strongest sunnah because the Prophet (saw) talked about the virtue of this prayer with words that he did not use about any other nafl prayers. He (saw) said, “The two rakats at dawn are better than this world and what it contains.” (Muslim, Salat al-Musafirin, 96).

It is makruh to establish a nafl prayer when iqamat is started to be recited for any prayer or when the imam starts prayer; however, two-rakat sunnah that is established before the fardh of fajr prayer is exempted from this due to its virtue although one needs to attend congregation (Kasani, Bada’i, I, 297). One should not miss this virtue when it is possible.

In this respect, if a person thinks that s/he will catch up with the last rakat or, according to some opinions, tashahhud of the fardh of fajr prayer that is being established in congregation, s/he should establish the sunnah rakats. On the other hand, if one worries that s/he will miss the fardh completely provided that s/he performs the sunnah, s/he needs to attend the congregation by skipping the sunnah (Ibn Maza, al-Muhit, I, 448-449; Ibn Abidin, Radd al-Muhtar, II, 510-511).

Source: Presidency Of Religious Affairs The Turkey, High Board of Religious Affairs FATWAS