What is the ruling on one who prays Maghrib behind someone who is praying 'Isha, whether he is a traveler who delayed the combined prayer for the sake of delay, or he is a resident who thought they were praying Maghrib?

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. A questioner says: A man travels until the time of 'Isha and passes by the people of a village who are praying 'Isha. Another man, who is from the village, prayed with them intending Maghrib because he thought they were praying Maghrib. What is the situation of each of these two men? Please give us a ruling on this, mentioning 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 those who follow them. The truth is that we do not have a text regarding this specific issue about which the question was asked; rather, it is derived through some 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 last 'Isha behind the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and then his praying it for his people. 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 how the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) prayed the prayer of fear for his Companions. Among 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 to come and pray behind the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) two rak'ahs. Naturally, the first two rak'ahs would be the obligatory prayer for the Messenger (peace 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. Also, we must mention here the incident of that Bedouin who was working in the open 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 last 'Isha prayer and heard him begin Surat al-Baqarah, he thought, or it was suggested to him, that this recitation would be long and very long for him. So he cut off the prayer behind Mu'adh and prayed alone. If we look at these texts, we can then 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 in this situation: if he caught 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 cut off following the imam, so that he sits for the final tashahhud at the end of the third rak'ah for him, then says the salam, then stands up and follows the imam for whatever of the 'Isha prayer he catches up with. This is what appears to me as the answer to this question.

The questioner : Yes, the traveling man knows that that imam is praying 'Isha.

The Shaykh : Okay.

The questioner : And he delayed Maghrib, so he entered with the congregation, entering with them intending Maghrib?

The Shaykh : Of course, it is not permissible to delay the Maghrib prayer past the 'Isha prayer. Rather, he follows them, then intends to separate, as I said earlier, when the imam stands up for the fourth rak'ah.

The questioner : Some scholars said he enters with them intending a voluntary prayer, praying 'Isha with them as a voluntary prayer for him, then he prays Maghrib, then 'Isha.

The Shaykh : Why?

The questioner : I do not know, so what is the correctness of this statement, or

The Shaykh : This is what I presented; I presented what I presented of evidence 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, then it is even more likely that this prayer is valid than that the prayer of those who are obligated to pray behind him while he is performing a voluntary prayer is valid. The only thing is that he needs a means in the matter, which is to intend to separate.

The questioner : Yes, may Allah reward you with good.

The Shaykh : And you as well.