If the imam prolongs the prostration and the worshipper is unable to prolong it, is it permissible for him to wait a little and then prostrate?

Question : Shaykh Muhammad, this woman says: I want to pray the tarawih and tahajjud prayers with the imam in the mosque, but she is unable to prostrate for a long time because she is ill. If the imam prostrates, should she wait a little and then prostrate?

Answer : In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds. May Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and his Companions, and upon those who follow them in excellence until the Day of Judgment. There is nothing wrong with this. However, in the tarawih prayer, the imams do not prolong the prostration for a very long time; they do prolong it in the tahajjud prayer. So if she sees that she should gesture with her head from the moment the imam prostrates, and then complete it with prostration, in order for her to maintain following the imam. And prostration by gesture is for her inability to prostrate on the ground except for a short duration.