How does one who arrives while the people are praying the night prayer perform the sunset prayer?
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Your Eminence! If a person is traveling and the time for the night prayer arrives while he has not yet prayed the sunset prayer, and he wants to pray the sunset prayer with the congregation who are praying the night prayer, intending the sunset prayer, what does he do in this case?
If the imam stands for the fourth rak'ah and he has joined them in the first rak'ah, he sits, recites the tashahhud, and says the taslim. Then he catches up with the imam in the remainder of the night prayer and completes it as four rak'ahs, provided he caught a rak'ah. It is likely that he will catch it, because he recites the tashahhud and hastens through it, along with seeking refuge from the punishment of the Hellfire and the punishment of the grave, then he joins the imam and catches the ruku'. However, if he does not catch the ruku', he has missed the reward.
If the imam stands for the fourth rak'ah and he has joined them in the first rak'ah, he sits, recites the tashahhud, and says the taslim. Then he catches up with the imam in the remainder of the night prayer and completes it as four rak'ahs, provided he caught a rak'ah. It is likely that he will catch it, because he recites the tashahhud and hastens through it, along with seeking refuge from the punishment of the Hellfire and the punishment of the grave, then he joins the imam and catches the ruku'. However, if he does not catch the ruku', he has missed the reward.