Is it permissible for the imam to prolong the bowing if he senses the latecomer entering so that he can catch up with the rak'ah, or not?

The questioner : Is it permissible for the imam to prolong his bowing when he senses that some of the praying people want to catch up with this rak'ah, or not?

The Shaykh : In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and I send prayers and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his Companions.
The jurists (may Allah have mercy on them) mentioned that it is recommended for the imam, if he senses someone entering while he is bowing, to prolong the bowing so that this latecomer can catch up with the rak'ah. However, they conditioned this with a condition, which is that it should not be burdensome for the ma'mums behind him. If it is burdensome for them, then considering the ma'mums with him is more important than considering this latecomer. I do not know of a Sunnah specifically regarding this issue, but it can perhaps be derived from the state of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), where he considered the ma'mums to such an extent that if he heard a baby crying, he would shorten his prayer (peace and blessings be upon him) for fear that his mother would be distracted. If the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) considered the conditions of the ma'mums to this extent, shortening the prayer so that the mother of the crying baby would not be distracted, then considering the latecomer who catches up with the rak'ah by catching up with the bowing is all the more so, especially if the bowing is in the last rak'ah, in order for this latecoming ma'mum to catch up with the prayer. It is established from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that he said: And if a person catches up with the bowing, he catches up with the rak'ah, even if he did not recite the Mother of the Qur'an. This is because it is established in the authentic hadith of Abu Bakrah (may Allah be pleased with him) that he entered while the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was bowing, so he hurried, then said the takbir and bowed before entering the row. When the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) finished the prayer, he asked who had done that, and Abu Bakrah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "It was me." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: And the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did not order him to make up this rak'ah whose bowing he had caught up with. If he had not caught up with the rak'ah, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) would have ordered him to make it up. Accordingly, the hadith of Abu Bakrah (may Allah be pleased with him) specifies the generality of his statement (peace and blessings be upon him) in the hadith of 'Ubadah ibn al-Samit: or or he said: So this hadith specifies, I mean the hadith of Abu Bakrah specifies the generality of the hadith of 'Ubadah ibn al-Samit. This is the direction of the evidence from the perspective of the textual evidence.
As for the theoretical evidence, we say: The place of the prayer is standing, and this man caught up with the imam while he was bowing, and he is commanded to follow his imam. So standing is dropped from him here due to the obligation of following the imam. And when standing is dropped, what was obligatory in it, which is the recitation, is also dropped.
But if someone says: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to Abu Bakrah: Does that serve as evidence that he did not catch up with the bowing?
The answer is that there is no evidence in it, because if he had not caught up with the bowing, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) would have ordered him to make it up, since the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) does not approve of anything that is not prescribed. For this reason, when the Bedouin entered and prayed a prayer in which he did not settle, then came and greeted the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), he said to him: But his statement (peace and blessings be upon him): is a prohibition of what should not be done when coming to the prayer. Abu Bakrah (may Allah be pleased with him) hurried and said the takbir for the prayer before entering the row, and bowed with the imam without reciting al-Fatihah. So these are three issues: As for the first two issues, they are prohibited. As for the first one, which is hurrying, it is established from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that he said: So his statement: means do not return to hurrying. As for the second one, which is that he entered the prayer before reaching the row, this is contrary to the obligation of forming rows, because a person does not pray alone while there is a place for him in the row. And this man said the takbir alone, which is contrary to what is prescribed, so it is prohibited.
As for the third issue, which is that he bowed with the imam when he caught up with him bowing, it does not fall under the prohibition of his statement (peace and blessings be upon him): And this man caught up with the imam bowing, so he prays with him.
So his statement: refers only to the first two issues, not the third issue. And the ruling of the third issue is known from the fact that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did not order him to make it up.