A traveler passes by a village while they are praying 'Isha' and joins them with the intention of Maghrib; is that valid? Likewise, a man from the village comes to pray with them with the intention of Maghrib while they are in the prayer of 'Isha'; what is the ruling on the prayer of each of the two men?
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The questioner : Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and blessings and peace be upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his Companions. The questioner says: A traveler did not pray Maghrib until 'Isha' had begun, and he passed by the people of a village while they were praying 'Isha'. Another man from the village prayed with them with the intention of Maghrib, thinking that they were praying Maghrib. What is the situation of each of these two men? Please give us a ruling on this, citing the evidence, and may Allah reward you with good.
The Shaykh : Praise be to Allah, and blessings and peace be upon the Messenger of Allah, his family, his Companions, and whoever follows them. The truth is that we do not have a specific text regarding this issue about which the question was asked; rather, it is derived through a degree of deduction and independent legal reasoning. We say that it is established in the Sunnah that a difference in intention between the follower and the imam does not affect the validity of the prayer or the validity of following. For example, there is the prayer of Mu'adh ibn Jabal of the late 'Isha' prayer behind the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and then his leading his people in that same prayer. As it came in Sahih al-Bukhari, it was a voluntary prayer for him and an obligatory prayer for those behind him. Also, there are some authentic hadiths regarding one of the ways the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) prayed the prayer of fear with his Companions. Among these is that he would pray two rak'ahs with the first group, then say the closing salam with them, and they would then move to the ranks of the other group so that they could come and pray two rak'ahs behind the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). Naturally, the first two rak'ahs would be the obligatory prayer for the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), and the last two rak'ahs with the other group would be a voluntary prayer. Similarly, there may be other examples that I do not recall at this moment. We must also mention here the incident of that Bedouin who was working in the open fields during the day and would come in the evening to pray behind Mu'adh (may Allah be pleased with him). One day, when he followed him in the late 'Isha' prayer and heard him begin reciting Surat al-Baqarah, he thought, or it was suggested to him, that this recitation would be long, and very long for him. So he broke off the prayer behind Mu'adh and prayed alone.
When we look at these texts, we can say that the prayer of this traveler or that resident who followed the imam while he was praying 'Isha', and each of them thought he was praying Maghrib, but it became clear to him that he was actually praying 'Isha', is as follows: If he catches the imam in the first rak'ah, then when the imam stands up for the fourth rak'ah, each of them should intend to separate and break off following the imam, so that he sits for the final tashahhud at the end of the third rak'ah for him, and says the salam. Then he stands up and follows the imam for whatever remains of the 'Isha' prayer. This is what appears to me as the answer to this question.
The questioner : The traveler knows that that imam is praying 'Isha' and has delayed Maghrib. He joins the congregation with the intention of Maghrib?
The Shaykh : Of course, it is not permissible to delay the Maghrib prayer until after the 'Isha' prayer. Rather, he follows him and then intends to separate, as I said earlier, when the imam stands up for the fourth rak'ah.
The questioner : Some scholars said that he enters with them with the intention of a voluntary prayer, praying 'Isha' with them as a voluntary prayer for him, then he prays Maghrib, and then 'Isha'. What is the validity of this opinion?
The Shaykh : I have presented the evidence I mentioned to clarify that a difference in intention between the follower and the imam does not harm the validity of the prayer. If he is praying Maghrib and the imam is praying 'Isha', it is even more likely that this prayer is valid than the prayer of those who are praying the obligatory prayer behind someone who is praying a voluntary prayer. The only thing is that it requires a middle step in the matter, which is that he intends to separate.
The questioner : May Allah reward you with good.
The Shaykh : And you as well.
The Shaykh : Praise be to Allah, and blessings and peace be upon the Messenger of Allah, his family, his Companions, and whoever follows them. The truth is that we do not have a specific text regarding this issue about which the question was asked; rather, it is derived through a degree of deduction and independent legal reasoning. We say that it is established in the Sunnah that a difference in intention between the follower and the imam does not affect the validity of the prayer or the validity of following. For example, there is the prayer of Mu'adh ibn Jabal of the late 'Isha' prayer behind the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and then his leading his people in that same prayer. As it came in Sahih al-Bukhari, it was a voluntary prayer for him and an obligatory prayer for those behind him. Also, there are some authentic hadiths regarding one of the ways the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) prayed the prayer of fear with his Companions. Among these is that he would pray two rak'ahs with the first group, then say the closing salam with them, and they would then move to the ranks of the other group so that they could come and pray two rak'ahs behind the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). Naturally, the first two rak'ahs would be the obligatory prayer for the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), and the last two rak'ahs with the other group would be a voluntary prayer. Similarly, there may be other examples that I do not recall at this moment. We must also mention here the incident of that Bedouin who was working in the open fields during the day and would come in the evening to pray behind Mu'adh (may Allah be pleased with him). One day, when he followed him in the late 'Isha' prayer and heard him begin reciting Surat al-Baqarah, he thought, or it was suggested to him, that this recitation would be long, and very long for him. So he broke off the prayer behind Mu'adh and prayed alone.
When we look at these texts, we can say that the prayer of this traveler or that resident who followed the imam while he was praying 'Isha', and each of them thought he was praying Maghrib, but it became clear to him that he was actually praying 'Isha', is as follows: If he catches the imam in the first rak'ah, then when the imam stands up for the fourth rak'ah, each of them should intend to separate and break off following the imam, so that he sits for the final tashahhud at the end of the third rak'ah for him, and says the salam. Then he stands up and follows the imam for whatever remains of the 'Isha' prayer. This is what appears to me as the answer to this question.
The questioner : The traveler knows that that imam is praying 'Isha' and has delayed Maghrib. He joins the congregation with the intention of Maghrib?
The Shaykh : Of course, it is not permissible to delay the Maghrib prayer until after the 'Isha' prayer. Rather, he follows him and then intends to separate, as I said earlier, when the imam stands up for the fourth rak'ah.
The questioner : Some scholars said that he enters with them with the intention of a voluntary prayer, praying 'Isha' with them as a voluntary prayer for him, then he prays Maghrib, and then 'Isha'. What is the validity of this opinion?
The Shaykh : I have presented the evidence I mentioned to clarify that a difference in intention between the follower and the imam does not harm the validity of the prayer. If he is praying Maghrib and the imam is praying 'Isha', it is even more likely that this prayer is valid than the prayer of those who are praying the obligatory prayer behind someone who is praying a voluntary prayer. The only thing is that it requires a middle step in the matter, which is that he intends to separate.
The questioner : May Allah reward you with good.
The Shaykh : And you as well.