The imam stands up for a fifth rak'ah, being certain that it is the fourth
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Question:
Honorable Shaykh, may Allah grant you success, how should the imam act if he stands for a fifth rak'ah while being certain that it is the fourth, and the ma'mum (those praying behind him) alert him? Is he required to go back, given his certainty that it is not an extra rak'ah?
Answer:
No, he is not required to go back, because the statement of the ma'mum only provides a gain, whereas he has a firm certainty, so it is not removed, and he is excused. If it becomes clear that he was mistaken, he is excused, but not if he did it intentionally for the sake of leadership. However, he must perform the prostration for forgetfulness.
Honorable Shaykh, may Allah grant you success, how should the imam act if he stands for a fifth rak'ah while being certain that it is the fourth, and the ma'mum (those praying behind him) alert him? Is he required to go back, given his certainty that it is not an extra rak'ah?
Answer:
No, he is not required to go back, because the statement of the ma'mum only provides a gain, whereas he has a firm certainty, so it is not removed, and he is excused. If it becomes clear that he was mistaken, he is excused, but not if he did it intentionally for the sake of leadership. However, he must perform the prostration for forgetfulness.
Source
قناة «العلامة الدكتور صالح الفوزان»، 141/29 شرح زاد المستقنع/ صالح الفوزان — youtube.com (1:18:21)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.