When is a rak'ah considered caught with the imam?
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The questioner:
May Allah reward you with good and do you well. He says: If I come to the prayer and the imam is bowing, and I bow with him immediately, and after I have straightened up with him in the bowing position—meaning before I say "Subhan Rabbi al-Azim" (Glory be to my Lord, the Great) or during that time—before I complete it, the imam raises his head. Do I have to repeat that rak'ah, or have I caught it? When is it considered caught or not caught in a case like this? Please inform us about this. May Allah reward you with good.
The Shaykh:
If you come and the imam is bowing, and you say the takbir of intention while standing, then you bow, and you catch the imam in the bowing position, then you have caught the rak'ah. The scholars stated that the condition for this is that you reach your hands to your knees while bending after the takbir of intention while standing. So, if your palms reach your knees and you place them on your knees, you have caught the bowing. If the imam has raised his head by that time, you say "Subhan Rabbi al-Azim" and then catch up with the imam, because saying "Subhan Rabbi al-Azim" is obligatory. Saying "Subhan Rabbi al-Azim" in the bowing position is one of the obligations of the prayer. So you say it even if the imam has raised his head, and then you catch up with the imam. However, if the imam raises his head before your hands reach your knees while bending in the bowing position, then you have missed the bowing. Yes. May Allah reward you with good and do you well.
The questioner:
If he is unable to say the tasbih, look, it is upon him.
The Shaykh:
No, it is not conceivable that someone would be unable to say "Subhan Rabbi al-Azim," because this does not take much time and does not require much effort. Yes.
The presenter:
May Allah reward you with good, and may He do you good.
May Allah reward you with good and do you well. He says: If I come to the prayer and the imam is bowing, and I bow with him immediately, and after I have straightened up with him in the bowing position—meaning before I say "Subhan Rabbi al-Azim" (Glory be to my Lord, the Great) or during that time—before I complete it, the imam raises his head. Do I have to repeat that rak'ah, or have I caught it? When is it considered caught or not caught in a case like this? Please inform us about this. May Allah reward you with good.
The Shaykh:
If you come and the imam is bowing, and you say the takbir of intention while standing, then you bow, and you catch the imam in the bowing position, then you have caught the rak'ah. The scholars stated that the condition for this is that you reach your hands to your knees while bending after the takbir of intention while standing. So, if your palms reach your knees and you place them on your knees, you have caught the bowing. If the imam has raised his head by that time, you say "Subhan Rabbi al-Azim" and then catch up with the imam, because saying "Subhan Rabbi al-Azim" is obligatory. Saying "Subhan Rabbi al-Azim" in the bowing position is one of the obligations of the prayer. So you say it even if the imam has raised his head, and then you catch up with the imam. However, if the imam raises his head before your hands reach your knees while bending in the bowing position, then you have missed the bowing. Yes. May Allah reward you with good and do you well.
The questioner:
If he is unable to say the tasbih, look, it is upon him.
The Shaykh:
No, it is not conceivable that someone would be unable to say "Subhan Rabbi al-Azim," because this does not take much time and does not require much effort. Yes.
The presenter:
May Allah reward you with good, and may He do you good.
Source
قناة «العلامة الدكتور صالح الفوزان»، متى يتم إدراك الركعة مع الإمام؟ الشيخ صالح بن فوزان الفوزان — youtube.com
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.