If you enter the mosque and the imam is bowing, and you say the takbir of ihram, and before you bow the imam rises, does this rak'ah count for you?
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The questioner : If you enter the mosque and the imam is bowing, and you say the takbir of ihram, and before you bow the imam rises, does this rak'ah count for you?
The Shaykh : If a person enters with the imam and says the takbir of ihram, then begins to bow, but the imam rises before he reaches the position of bowing, he has not caught the rak'ah. This is because catching the rak'ah requires reaching the bowing position before the imam rises from it, meaning he must participate in the imam's bowing. If the imam rises before he bows, he has missed the rak'ah. And if the imam rises before he reaches the bowing position, even if he had already begun to bow, he has missed the rak'ah.
However, the issue that often causes difficulty is when a person is unsure whether he caught the rak'ah, meaning whether he caught the imam's bowing or not. We say: act on your predominant suspicion. If it is your predominant suspicion that you caught the bowing, then you have caught it. If it is your predominant suspicion that you did not catch it, then you have not caught it. And if you are in doubt, then you have not caught it. At that point, we say: either he is certain that he caught the imam in bowing, in which case he has caught the rak'ah; or it is his predominant suspicion that he caught the imam in bowing, in which case he has caught the rak'ah; or he is certain that the imam rose from bowing before he reached it, in which case he has not caught the rak'ah; or it is his predominant suspicion that the imam rose before he caught him in bowing, in which case he has not caught the rak'ah; or he is in doubt, in which case he has not caught the rak'ah. But if he is certain that he caught the bowing, the matter is clear. And if it is his predominant suspicion that he caught the bowing, he has caught the rak'ah. However, if he missed any part of the prayer, it is obligatory for him to perform the prostration for forgetfulness after the taslim, once he has made up what he missed. And if he did not miss any part of the prayer, because this was the first rak'ah, he says the taslim with the imam and nothing is required of him. Yes.
The questioner : May Allah reward you.
The Shaykh : If a person enters with the imam and says the takbir of ihram, then begins to bow, but the imam rises before he reaches the position of bowing, he has not caught the rak'ah. This is because catching the rak'ah requires reaching the bowing position before the imam rises from it, meaning he must participate in the imam's bowing. If the imam rises before he bows, he has missed the rak'ah. And if the imam rises before he reaches the bowing position, even if he had already begun to bow, he has missed the rak'ah.
However, the issue that often causes difficulty is when a person is unsure whether he caught the rak'ah, meaning whether he caught the imam's bowing or not. We say: act on your predominant suspicion. If it is your predominant suspicion that you caught the bowing, then you have caught it. If it is your predominant suspicion that you did not catch it, then you have not caught it. And if you are in doubt, then you have not caught it. At that point, we say: either he is certain that he caught the imam in bowing, in which case he has caught the rak'ah; or it is his predominant suspicion that he caught the imam in bowing, in which case he has caught the rak'ah; or he is certain that the imam rose from bowing before he reached it, in which case he has not caught the rak'ah; or it is his predominant suspicion that the imam rose before he caught him in bowing, in which case he has not caught the rak'ah; or he is in doubt, in which case he has not caught the rak'ah. But if he is certain that he caught the bowing, the matter is clear. And if it is his predominant suspicion that he caught the bowing, he has caught the rak'ah. However, if he missed any part of the prayer, it is obligatory for him to perform the prostration for forgetfulness after the taslim, once he has made up what he missed. And if he did not miss any part of the prayer, because this was the first rak'ah, he says the taslim with the imam and nothing is required of him. Yes.
The questioner : May Allah reward you.