How does a traveler pray if he misses two rak'ahs behind a resident imam?

The questioner : It is well known that if a traveler prays behind a resident imam, he completes his prayer. However, if he joins the prayer and has already missed two rak'ahs, is he required to complete the prayer by praying the two rak'ahs of the traveler’s prayer?

The Shaykh : He joins the imam in the middle of the prayer. We have stated many times that if a traveler prays with an imam who completes the prayer, it is obligatory for him to complete the prayer, whether he joined the imam at the beginning of the prayer or in the middle of it. Accordingly, if you are a traveler and you join the imam in the third rak'ah of the Zuhr prayer, then when the imam says the taslim, you must perform two rak'ahs, based on the general meaning of the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): "Pray what you have caught up with, and complete what you have missed." Also, because Ibn 'Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) said that this is the Sunnah. As for the case where the imam is a traveler and the ma'mum is a resident, when the imam says the taslim after two rak'ahs, it is obligatory for the ma'mum to make up the remainder of his prayer after the imam’s taslim. This is because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to pray with the people of Makkah in the Year of the Conquest, praying two rak'ahs and saying, "Complete your prayer, O people of Makkah, for we are a traveling people," meaning a people who are travelers. So if a traveler prays for you, he will say the taslim after two rak'ahs, and when he does, you perform the remainder of your prayer.