If the imam concludes the prayer with three rak'ahs in a four-rak'ah prayer, what is the ruling for the ma'mum who joined in the first rak'ah and thinks he missed a rak'ah? What should he do?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : In such a case, if the imam concludes the prayer after three rak'ahs in a four-rak'ah prayer, and the ma'mum who had joined at the beginning of the prayer thinks, after the imam has concluded, that he missed a rak'ah and stands up to complete what he missed, what should he do in such a situation?
The Shaykh : In such a situation, this ma'mum has separated from his imam for a valid legal excuse, because he thought the imam had completed his prayer. If the imam is alerted and stands up to complete his prayer, then this ma'mum has the choice between returning with his imam or completing his prayer alone. Returning with the imam is better and more preferable, because the imam concluded the prayer before completing his prayer, so returning with him is better.
The Shaykh : In such a situation, this ma'mum has separated from his imam for a valid legal excuse, because he thought the imam had completed his prayer. If the imam is alerted and stands up to complete his prayer, then this ma'mum has the choice between returning with his imam or completing his prayer alone. Returning with the imam is better and more preferable, because the imam concluded the prayer before completing his prayer, so returning with him is better.