Question Summary:
I had a few questions regarding some scenarios I face at the musallah at work.

Question Detail:

I had a few questions regarding some scenarios I face at the musalla at work, and I'm looking for responses from a Hanafi fiqh perspective:
i) If I know someone is praying fard salah alone (ie. when I enter, he starts doing qirat loudly or starts saying takbirat loudly), can I join him and make jama'ah?
ii) Can I join someone if I think they might be praying fard but am not fully sure?
iii) If I join a jama'ah already in progress (ie. 2-3 brothers praying) and then after salam I see that everyone apart from the Imam gets up to complete their salah (because they joined someone who was praying individually), is that jamah valid for me? What if that person who they joined was praying sunnah?
iv) If someone joins me while I am praying sunnah then do I have to start saying the takbeeraat aloud?
I look forward to your response and to any advice you can give in terms of explaining this to brothers, because sometimes these situations can lead to unnecessary arguments as it is hard to explain to someone these days that we differ from them because we follow Hanafi fiqh (the inevitable argument of following the sunnah comes out and I don't get in to arguments at all, and I don't want to cause hurt feelings, etc.)"

Answer :

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In the Name of Allāh, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
As-salāmu ‘alaykum wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuh.

1.) You may join him if you are sure that he is praying Fardh Salah . In any Salah you pray behind an Imam – the Imam's Salah has to be the same or stronger than your Salah. Therefore, you cannot pray Fardh behind an Imam praying Sunnah. Likewise, if the Imam is making up a Fardh Salah from a day before (E.g he is making up Asr Salah from yesterday), you cannot follow him with the intention of today's Asr Salah.1
If the Imam is praying the Fardh of Dhuhr or Ishaa whereas you have already prayed, you can join behind him with the intention of Nafl (supererogatory). This scenario is permissible since your Salah (Nafl) is “weaker” than the Imam's Salah (Fardh).
However, if the Imam is leading Fajr, Asr or Maghrib and you have already prayed that particular Salah, you may not join him because nawaafil (supererogatory prayers) are makruh after Fajr and after Asr. You should not join him in Maghrib either because there are no nawaafil consisting of three rakaats.2

2.) Since you cannot follow an Imam who is praying the Sunnah while you make Fardh, it is best for you to schedule the prayer in such a way, that you are sure that your colleagues are praying Fardh. One way is to set a fixed time in your work break or lunch hour for the congregational Salah. That way you can be sure that you're following along in the Fardh prayer.

3.) Yes, it is permissible for men to join a congregation in which all the muqtadis (followers) joined an Imam who started the Fardh Salah individually.            
However, if the Imam was praying Sunnah, then the Fardh Salah is not fulfilled behind an Imam praying Sunnah.  Furthermore, it is important to note that if a masbooq (a follower who joined late in a congregational prayer) is completing his missed rak'ahs, it is not permissible for others to join him and take him as an Imam.3
As for women, their Salah is not valid unless the Imam had made an intention for them. Hence, they should not join a congregation when the Imam started the prayer individually, as he most likely did not make the intention of being an Imam for them.

4.) If you are praying the Sunnah prayer you should just complete it as normal, without saying the takbeeraat out loud. If you explain to the brother after Salah, the reason for your doing so, Insha-Allah they will accommodate you. You are right in avoiding arguments, but you should keep in mind that Hanafi fiqh is derived from the Quran and the Sunnah as well.
And Allāh knows best.
Ml. Sohail Bengali
Chicago, IL (USA)
Concurred by:
Muftī Abrar Mirza
Chicago, IL (USA)
Under the Supervision of Muftī Ebrahim Desai (South Africa)