If a person enters the prayer alone while in the first rak'ah, and then a congregation gathers after him, is it permissible for him to conclude his prayer and join them in congregation, or not?
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The questioner : The honorable father says: I came to the prayer here and the prayer had already ended, so I prayed alone. During the prayer, a congregation gathered and the iqamah was called. What should I do? Knowing that I had only completed one rak'ah.
The Shaykh : Yes, if a person enters the prayer alone and a congregation gathers, he has the choice between three options: either he continues his prayer because he is excused, or he breaks off his prayer to join the congregation, or he changes it to a voluntary prayer and shortens it in order to catch the congregation. The scholars have permitted all of this, so you are at your option. If you wish, you can remain as you are, conclude your prayer, and leave. If you wish, you can make it a voluntary prayer, shorten it, complete it as two rak'ahs, and then join the congregation. If you wish, you can break it off, and there is no harm in that. However, regarding the last option, someone might ask: How can I break it off when it is an obligatory prayer, and it is not permissible to break off an obligatory prayer? I say that I did not break it off out of desire to abandon it, but I broke it off to move to what is better, which is the congregation.
The questioner : Which of the situations is the best?
The Shaykh : What appears to me is that the best situation is if he intends it as a voluntary prayer and shortens it, so that this prayer is not lost on him; that is better than breaking it off. Yes.
The Shaykh : Yes, if a person enters the prayer alone and a congregation gathers, he has the choice between three options: either he continues his prayer because he is excused, or he breaks off his prayer to join the congregation, or he changes it to a voluntary prayer and shortens it in order to catch the congregation. The scholars have permitted all of this, so you are at your option. If you wish, you can remain as you are, conclude your prayer, and leave. If you wish, you can make it a voluntary prayer, shorten it, complete it as two rak'ahs, and then join the congregation. If you wish, you can break it off, and there is no harm in that. However, regarding the last option, someone might ask: How can I break it off when it is an obligatory prayer, and it is not permissible to break off an obligatory prayer? I say that I did not break it off out of desire to abandon it, but I broke it off to move to what is better, which is the congregation.
The questioner : Which of the situations is the best?
The Shaykh : What appears to me is that the best situation is if he intends it as a voluntary prayer and shortens it, so that this prayer is not lost on him; that is better than breaking it off. Yes.