Holding a second congregation in a mosque

A question about holding a second congregation in a mosque, in which Jordan's General Iftaa Department answered that it is disliked to deliberately hold one in a neighbourhood mosque with a regular imam unless he permits it, and that second and third congregations are permitted in busy mosques such as those in markets. ¹

The questioner asked about holding a second congregation in a mosque. ¹

The Department answered that it is disliked to deliberately hold a second congregation in a mosque that is not a thoroughfare, such as a neighbourhood mosque, when it has a regular imam, unless the imam permits it, because it implies criticism of the imam. ¹ It said that in a busy mosque, such as a market mosque, second and third congregations are permitted whether or not it has a regular imam and whether or not the imam permits it, because people come to it in large numbers and several congregations imply no criticism of the imam. ¹

Jordan's General Iftaa Department published this fatwa on aliftaa.jo as no. 4258, dated 17 February 2026. ¹ The museum records this text as a historical document attributed to the body or scholar that issued it; it issues no ruling of its own.