Is catching the final sitting in the prayer considered catching the prayer, or is it necessary to catch a rak'ah of it with the bowing and what follows?
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The questioner : Regarding the issue of the latecomer in prayer, I have discussed it with my brother Nasser more than once.
The Shaykh : Which prayer?
The questioner : The latecomer in prayer, the latecomer.
The Shaykh : The latecomer, yes.
The questioner : Does catching the final sitting mean catching the prayer? Catching the final sitting in the prayer?
The Shaykh : If he catches the imam before the taslim, he has caught it, based on the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): But the issue that arose for you is that catching!
The questioner : Is tied to the bowing.
The Shaykh : No, catching has levels. So if someone catches the imam at the takbir of ihram, there is no doubt or ambiguity that this is not like the one who caught him before the taslim, correct?!
And between this and that are degrees that are difficult to count. So if we assume someone caught the imam just as he began:[Al-Fatihah 1:2] in the first rak'ah, he is not like the one who came after him moments later and caught him while he was saying, for example: [Al-Fatihah 1:5] You detail whatever examples you wish, for I have given you the highest, which is catching the takbir of the prayer with the imam, and I have given you the lowest, which is that he came and caught the imam before the taslim. Between this and that are degrees that no one knows except Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He).
The questioner : We are not talking about the degrees, but catching the rak'ah is catching the bowing, correct?!
Does the rak'ah count as a rak'ah with the congregation if you catch the bowing?
The Shaykh : So you want to say: catching the bowing is catching the rak'ah.
The questioner : Catching the rak'ah.
The Shaykh : Yes, very well.
The questioner : So I did not catch the last rak'ah, and I sat with the imam, and the imam said the taslim, and I completed the prayer fully after the imam's taslim.
The Shaykh : Okay.
The questioner : So here, one of the conditions of the congregation, which is the imam behind whom one says the takbir, is not present. There is no imam. I pray the four rak'ahs on my own, for example, if the prayer is four rak'ahs, and I did not catch a rak'ah for my prayer to count as a congregational prayer?
The Shaykh : What is the evidence for what you are saying? I recited to you just now!
The questioner : The evidence is catching the bowing only.
The Shaykh : Listen, I recited to you just now the saying of the Messenger:Sahih al-Bukhari 635 This one missed four rak'ahs, so he comes and performs them.
The questioner : He comes and performs the four rak'ahs?
The Shaykh : Is that not included in the hadith?
Sahih al-Bukhari 635 This one missed the entire prayer except the taslim, so he caught the taslim, correct?!
He sat, and barely had he sat when the imam said: Peace be upon you. So now, what does this person do according to what you mentioned just now? And we naturally have a discussion on that. This person who barely sat and began the tashahhud when the imam said: Peace be upon you, what does he do? Let us now set aside what he caught; that is a topic we may return to. What does he do?
The questioner : Personally, I used to say the taslim with him and start a new prayer before I learned from my brother Nasser.
The Shaykh : Fine, what is the evidence for what you used to do?
The questioner : The evidence is that I did not catch the last rak'ah.
The Shaykh : This—may Allah bless you—pay attention, this is not evidence, this is a claim. You are claiming something. For example, I claim against you that I lent you ten thousand riyals one day. This is a claim. What is the evidence I have, for example, to take a written acknowledgment that you borrowed from so-and-so such and such? That is evidence. But what is my claim?
I have such and such against you. The evidence is that so-and-so testifies against you with such and such. So we must distinguish between the claim and the evidence.
The questioner : And the imam...?
The Shaykh : You—do not rush me if you wish—you are claiming. We are now asking about the evidence for this claim. Do you have evidence?
The questioner : One of the conditions of the congregation, the congregational prayer, the imam?
The Shaykh : This is a claim. If the man prayed alone, was his prayer valid?
The questioner : It does not count as a congregational prayer, it counts as an individual prayer.
The Shaykh : Correct, but we mentioned just now examples of the one who caught the imam at the beginning of the prayer and the one who caught him before the taslim, and between them are degrees. Now we answer with an example close to the latter:
He sat, and barely had the imam finished the fourth rak'ah and sat for the tashahhud when he entered and sat with him. Did this person catch the prayer?
The questioner : He caught it. I mean, does he have the virtue of the congregation like the rest?
The Shaykh : What is it, may Allah bless you, we are saying the virtue of the congregation varies from case to case. This one who caught the full virtue of the congregation, this one who said after the imam's saying: Allahu Akbar at the beginning of the prayer, this one caught the entire prayer. But the one who missed a rak'ah, did he catch the entire virtue of the congregation?!
The questioner : No.
The Shaykh : Ah, and go down, go down, go down, go down, to reach where he caught from the prayer the imam's taslim. This caught something, meaning as they say: "Of the camels, its ear", meaning: if the matter is between two who entered the mosque, one slower than the other, the first preceded him, sat for the tashahhud, and the imam said: Peace be upon you, and the second did not catch the taslim, are they equal, for example?
They are not equal, but likewise, the one who caught the imam's takbir, the takbir of ihram, is not equal to the one who only caught the taslim. They are not equal, and between them are many degrees and degrees. So the more of the imam's prayer the catcher catches, the greater the reward, and vice versa. This is it.
The Shaykh : Which prayer?
The questioner : The latecomer in prayer, the latecomer.
The Shaykh : The latecomer, yes.
The questioner : Does catching the final sitting mean catching the prayer? Catching the final sitting in the prayer?
The Shaykh : If he catches the imam before the taslim, he has caught it, based on the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him):
When you come to the prayer, come to it with calmness and composure, and do not come to it while running. So whatever you catch, pray, and whatever you miss, complete.
إذا أتيتم الصلاة فأتوها وعليكم السكينة والوقار، ولا تأتوها وأنتم تسعون، فما أدركتم فصلوا وما فاتكم فأتمواThe questioner : Is tied to the bowing.
The Shaykh : No, catching has levels. So if someone catches the imam at the takbir of ihram, there is no doubt or ambiguity that this is not like the one who caught him before the taslim, correct?!
And between this and that are degrees that are difficult to count. So if we assume someone caught the imam just as he began:
[All] praise is [due] to Allah, Lord of the worlds -
الحمدلله رب العالمينIt is You we worship and You we ask for help.
إياك نعبد وإياك نستعينThe questioner : We are not talking about the degrees, but catching the rak'ah is catching the bowing, correct?!
Does the rak'ah count as a rak'ah with the congregation if you catch the bowing?
The Shaykh : So you want to say: catching the bowing is catching the rak'ah.
The questioner : Catching the rak'ah.
The Shaykh : Yes, very well.
The questioner : So I did not catch the last rak'ah, and I sat with the imam, and the imam said the taslim, and I completed the prayer fully after the imam's taslim.
The Shaykh : Okay.
The questioner : So here, one of the conditions of the congregation, which is the imam behind whom one says the takbir, is not present. There is no imam. I pray the four rak'ahs on my own, for example, if the prayer is four rak'ahs, and I did not catch a rak'ah for my prayer to count as a congregational prayer?
The Shaykh : What is the evidence for what you are saying? I recited to you just now!
The questioner : The evidence is catching the bowing only.
The Shaykh : Listen, I recited to you just now the saying of the Messenger:
and pray whatever you get (with the people) and complete the rest which you have missed
ما أدركتم فصلوا، وما فاتكم فأتمواThe questioner : He comes and performs the four rak'ahs?
The Shaykh : Is that not included in the hadith?
and pray whatever you get (with the people) and complete the rest which you have missed
ما أدركتم فصلوا ، وما فاتكم فأتمواHe sat, and barely had he sat when the imam said: Peace be upon you. So now, what does this person do according to what you mentioned just now? And we naturally have a discussion on that. This person who barely sat and began the tashahhud when the imam said: Peace be upon you, what does he do? Let us now set aside what he caught; that is a topic we may return to. What does he do?
The questioner : Personally, I used to say the taslim with him and start a new prayer before I learned from my brother Nasser.
The Shaykh : Fine, what is the evidence for what you used to do?
The questioner : The evidence is that I did not catch the last rak'ah.
The Shaykh : This—may Allah bless you—pay attention, this is not evidence, this is a claim. You are claiming something. For example, I claim against you that I lent you ten thousand riyals one day. This is a claim. What is the evidence I have, for example, to take a written acknowledgment that you borrowed from so-and-so such and such? That is evidence. But what is my claim?
I have such and such against you. The evidence is that so-and-so testifies against you with such and such. So we must distinguish between the claim and the evidence.
The questioner : And the imam...?
The Shaykh : You—do not rush me if you wish—you are claiming. We are now asking about the evidence for this claim. Do you have evidence?
The questioner : One of the conditions of the congregation, the congregational prayer, the imam?
The Shaykh : This is a claim. If the man prayed alone, was his prayer valid?
The questioner : It does not count as a congregational prayer, it counts as an individual prayer.
The Shaykh : Correct, but we mentioned just now examples of the one who caught the imam at the beginning of the prayer and the one who caught him before the taslim, and between them are degrees. Now we answer with an example close to the latter:
He sat, and barely had the imam finished the fourth rak'ah and sat for the tashahhud when he entered and sat with him. Did this person catch the prayer?
The questioner : He caught it. I mean, does he have the virtue of the congregation like the rest?
The Shaykh : What is it, may Allah bless you, we are saying the virtue of the congregation varies from case to case. This one who caught the full virtue of the congregation, this one who said after the imam's saying: Allahu Akbar at the beginning of the prayer, this one caught the entire prayer. But the one who missed a rak'ah, did he catch the entire virtue of the congregation?!
The questioner : No.
The Shaykh : Ah, and go down, go down, go down, go down, to reach where he caught from the prayer the imam's taslim. This caught something, meaning as they say: "Of the camels, its ear", meaning: if the matter is between two who entered the mosque, one slower than the other, the first preceded him, sat for the tashahhud, and the imam said: Peace be upon you, and the second did not catch the taslim, are they equal, for example?
They are not equal, but likewise, the one who caught the imam's takbir, the takbir of ihram, is not equal to the one who only caught the taslim. They are not equal, and between them are many degrees and degrees. So the more of the imam's prayer the catcher catches, the greater the reward, and vice versa. This is it.