What is the ruling on one who waits for the imam at the time of bowing and then enters the prayer with him?
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The questioner : The questioner says: What is your opinion of a man who is sitting when the imam says the takbir of ihram, and he waits for the imam until he bows, then he stands up, says the takbir, and bows?
The Shaykh : How so? I mean, he was saying a man is late in entering the prayer. This is the questioner's question. Is the questioner present now? Yes.
The questioner : The question is, for example, right now? The standing of the prayer, for example, and I am sitting and the imam said the takbir, and I am sitting when the imam raises his head, I run and catch up with the opening.
The Shaykh : Is it the sunnah of the imam or the sunnah of the row?
The questioner : Do you understand?
The Shaykh : Okay, there is no harm, listen. If it is the night prayer and the person remains after the imam has said the takbir until he is about to bow, then he stands up and enters with the imam, there is no blame on him for that, because the night prayer is not obligatory. In fact, if he leaves the mosque after the imam's takbir and goes out, there is no blame on him. But if it is the obligatory prayer, then this is contrary to what the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) commanded, becauseBulugh al-Maram 2:329 and he caught the prayer from its beginning, so why does he remain sitting?
He must stand up and enter with the imam, especially since if he delays entering until the imam has bowed, then he stands up and bows with him, I doubt that he has caught the rak'ah. Why?
The questioner : Meaning,
The Shaykh : Because he left off the recitation of al-Fatihah without an excuse.
The Shaykh : How so? I mean, he was saying a man is late in entering the prayer. This is the questioner's question. Is the questioner present now? Yes.
The questioner : The question is, for example, right now? The standing of the prayer, for example, and I am sitting and the imam said the takbir, and I am sitting when the imam raises his head, I run and catch up with the opening.
The Shaykh : Is it the sunnah of the imam or the sunnah of the row?
The questioner : Do you understand?
The Shaykh : Okay, there is no harm, listen. If it is the night prayer and the person remains after the imam has said the takbir until he is about to bow, then he stands up and enters with the imam, there is no blame on him for that, because the night prayer is not obligatory. In fact, if he leaves the mosque after the imam's takbir and goes out, there is no blame on him. But if it is the obligatory prayer, then this is contrary to what the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) commanded, because
The Prophet (ﷺ) said: "If you hear the Iqamah, you must walk to the prayer (place) with tranquility and dignity, and do not hasten; and whatever portion of the prayer you get (along with the Imam) offer it
النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم يقول إذا سمعتم الإقامة فامشوا إلى الصلاة وعليكم السكينة والوقار ولا تسرعوا فما أدركتم فصلواHe must stand up and enter with the imam, especially since if he delays entering until the imam has bowed, then he stands up and bows with him, I doubt that he has caught the rak'ah. Why?
The questioner : Meaning,
The Shaykh : Because he left off the recitation of al-Fatihah without an excuse.
Source
قناة «فضيلة الشيخ محمد بن صالح العثيمين»، لقاء[10 من 40] ما حكم من ينتظر الإمام وقت الركوع ثم يدخل معه في الصلاة؟!! ابن عثيمين - كبار العلماء — youtube.com
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.