I heard you in one of your Friday sermons saying
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The questioner : He says: May the Shaykh be honored, I heard you in one of your Friday sermons saying: It is obligatory that the ma'mum not follow the imam if he adds to the number of rak'ahs of the obligatory prayer, such as adding a fifth. What is the manner of alerting the imam? I ask for clarification. And if the imam does not sit and continues his prayer in the fifth rak'ah, what does the ma'mum do? Does he stand up to follow the imam, or does he remain sitting?
The Shaykh : Yes, the alerting, the alerting of the imam, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) explained it in his saying:Sahih Ibn Hibban 10:556 So the man says: Subhan Allah (Glory be to Allah). But sometimes he says to the imam while he is standing up for the fifth in a four-rak'ah prayer: He says Subhan Allah! But the imam continues, so what does he do? We say: Sit down. The ma'mum sits and does not follow the imam. Then, when the imam says the taslim, he says it with him. This is because some imams have become aware of this. Some imams stand up for the fifth because they forgot the recitation of al-Fatihah in one of the rak'ahs. If one forgets the recitation of al-Fatihah in one of the rak'ahs, that rak'ah is void and the rak'ah that follows takes its place. So he brings the fifth in place of what? The rak'ah in which he forgot the recitation of al-Fatihah. So the imam's prayer is not invalid now, because he brought the fifth to complete his prayer which was deficient by the omission of one of its pillars.
As for if we know that the imam stood up for a fifth, or for an extra rak'ah generally, then we intend to separate from him and we say the taslim alone and we leave him. Just as if he were praying Fajr and we know that the man recited al-Fatihah completely, and the ruku' was complete, and the sujud was complete, and the standing up from ruku' was complete, and the sitting was complete, and the final tashahhud was also complete: we know that he recited it. So if we are certain that he stood up for an extra rak'ah, then we do not follow him, we sit, and we say the taslim.
As for if we are not certain, then we sit, but we wait until he says the taslim and we say it with him.
The Shaykh : Yes, the alerting, the alerting of the imam, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) explained it in his saying:
The men should say Subhan Allah and the women should clap
ليسبح الرجال ولتصفق النساءAs for if we know that the imam stood up for a fifth, or for an extra rak'ah generally, then we intend to separate from him and we say the taslim alone and we leave him. Just as if he were praying Fajr and we know that the man recited al-Fatihah completely, and the ruku' was complete, and the sujud was complete, and the standing up from ruku' was complete, and the sitting was complete, and the final tashahhud was also complete: we know that he recited it. So if we are certain that he stood up for an extra rak'ah, then we do not follow him, we sit, and we say the taslim.
As for if we are not certain, then we sit, but we wait until he says the taslim and we say it with him.