The ruling on one who catches up with a congregation praying the night prayer before he has prayed the sunset prayer.
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The Shaykh : Here is a matter: if you came to the mosque and they are praying the night prayer, and you have not prayed the sunset prayer, do you pray the sunset prayer alone and then join them in the night prayer, or do you pray the night prayer with them and then delay the sunset prayer until after, or do you join them with the intention of the sunset prayer even though they are praying the night prayer? How many possibilities are there? Three. The last one is the most preferable: that you join them with the intention of the sunset prayer even though they are praying the night prayer. But if you joined them in the first rak'ah, then when the imam stands for the fourth, your prayer has ended. You must sit, recite the tashahhud, and say the taslim. Then you join the imam in the remainder of the night prayer if you catch up with it. If you joined him in the second rak'ah, what do you do? You follow him and say the taslim with him, because you would have prayed three. If you joined him in the third rak'ah, you follow him, and when he says the taslim, you stand and add how many?
The student: ...
The Shaykh : No, you do not join him in the third, my brothers. You are praying the sunset prayer, and the imam is praying the night prayer. You add one rak'ah, because how many is your prayer? Three. Even though the imam's prayer is four, your prayer is three. So if you joined him in the third, you prayed two with the imam. When the imam says the taslim, you add one rak'ah. And if you joined in the fourth, you add two rak'ahs.
Now, it may be difficult for a person that by following his imam, if he joined him in the second, the prayer becomes disordered. He would be sitting in the first rak'ah, right? And he did not sit in the second rak'ah? We say: there is no blame on him, because he sat following his imam and left off the tashahhud following his imam. For this, there are parallels. Did you see if you joined him in the midday prayer, and he is praying the midday prayer, and you joined him in the second rak'ah? You will sit in the first rak'ah and not sit in the second rak'ah, but all of this is for the sake of following the imam, by the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him):Sahih al-Bukhari 722
If a person says: it is difficult for me if I joined him in the first rak'ah, and he intends the sunset prayer and the imam is praying the night prayer, then he sits in the third and separates from the imam. It is difficult for him: why does he separate? We said: this separation is for an excuse, and that is that his prayer has been completed, so he must separate. He has a parallel in the Shari'ah. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in the prayer of fear used to pray with his companions, with one group at the beginning of the prayer, then they would complete their prayer and leave, and the other group would come and catch up with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) at the end of the prayer. Then the scholars (may Allah have mercy on them) said: "If a person joined the imam and during the prayer he was overcome by the need to urinate, defecate, or pass wind, and he could not complete the prayer with the imam, the scholars said: he may separate from his imam, complete his prayer, and leave". Is this matter understood or not understood? Understood.
The student: ...
The Shaykh : A person joined the imam at the beginning of the prayer, praying the midday prayer with the imam, and the imam is praying the midday prayer. During the prayer, he experienced the urge to relieve himself of one of the two impurities, or to pass wind, and it is difficult for him to follow the imam. We say: the matter is broad. Intend to separate, complete your prayer lightly, and relieve yourself. Is this clear, everyone? This separation is for what? For an excuse. And excuses are not like non-excuses. So this is a physical excuse, and the one who sat to recite the tashahhud and say the taslim in the sunset prayer has a legal excuse. And the summary of this meeting is: that it is obligatory for us to thank Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) for what He has bestowed upon us of these rains, and that we ask Allah to make therein a blessing. This is one point.
Second: it is not permissible for us to be lenient in combining prayers, but if the cause for combining is found, combining is better, following the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). And success is from Allah. And this meeting is the thirty-second of the monthly meetings.
The student: ...
The Shaykh : No, you do not join him in the third, my brothers. You are praying the sunset prayer, and the imam is praying the night prayer. You add one rak'ah, because how many is your prayer? Three. Even though the imam's prayer is four, your prayer is three. So if you joined him in the third, you prayed two with the imam. When the imam says the taslim, you add one rak'ah. And if you joined in the fourth, you add two rak'ahs.
Now, it may be difficult for a person that by following his imam, if he joined him in the second, the prayer becomes disordered. He would be sitting in the first rak'ah, right? And he did not sit in the second rak'ah? We say: there is no blame on him, because he sat following his imam and left off the tashahhud following his imam. For this, there are parallels. Did you see if you joined him in the midday prayer, and he is praying the midday prayer, and you joined him in the second rak'ah? You will sit in the first rak'ah and not sit in the second rak'ah, but all of this is for the sake of following the imam, by the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him):
The Imam is (appointed) to be followed. So do not differ from him
إنما جعل الإمام ليؤتم به فلا تختلفوا عليهIf a person says: it is difficult for me if I joined him in the first rak'ah, and he intends the sunset prayer and the imam is praying the night prayer, then he sits in the third and separates from the imam. It is difficult for him: why does he separate? We said: this separation is for an excuse, and that is that his prayer has been completed, so he must separate. He has a parallel in the Shari'ah. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in the prayer of fear used to pray with his companions, with one group at the beginning of the prayer, then they would complete their prayer and leave, and the other group would come and catch up with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) at the end of the prayer. Then the scholars (may Allah have mercy on them) said: "If a person joined the imam and during the prayer he was overcome by the need to urinate, defecate, or pass wind, and he could not complete the prayer with the imam, the scholars said: he may separate from his imam, complete his prayer, and leave". Is this matter understood or not understood? Understood.
The student: ...
The Shaykh : A person joined the imam at the beginning of the prayer, praying the midday prayer with the imam, and the imam is praying the midday prayer. During the prayer, he experienced the urge to relieve himself of one of the two impurities, or to pass wind, and it is difficult for him to follow the imam. We say: the matter is broad. Intend to separate, complete your prayer lightly, and relieve yourself. Is this clear, everyone? This separation is for what? For an excuse. And excuses are not like non-excuses. So this is a physical excuse, and the one who sat to recite the tashahhud and say the taslim in the sunset prayer has a legal excuse. And the summary of this meeting is: that it is obligatory for us to thank Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) for what He has bestowed upon us of these rains, and that we ask Allah to make therein a blessing. This is one point.
Second: it is not permissible for us to be lenient in combining prayers, but if the cause for combining is found, combining is better, following the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). And success is from Allah. And this meeting is the thirty-second of the monthly meetings.