If the iqamah is called and a woman is praying the rawatib, does she complete the prayer or pray one rak'ah and say the taslim?

The questioner : In the last of this questioner's questions, she asks: If the iqamah is called and she has not yet prayed the rawatib, does she complete the prayer or pray one rak'ah and say the taslim?

The Shaykh : I mean, has she already started the prayer or not?

The questioner : Yes.

The Shaykh : If the iqamah is called and a person wants to pray with the congregation.

The questioner : Yes, Shaykh.

The Shaykh : If he is in the second rak'ah of the rawatib, he should complete it briefly. If he is in the first rak'ah, he should stop. The evidence for this is that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said This implies that one must refrain from starting a non-obligatory prayer. He (peace and blessings be upon him) also said This indicates that if the one praying the rawatib catches a complete rak'ah before the iqamah, he has caught the prayer, so he should complete it briefly. This is the detailed position, and it is a middle ground between two opinions. One opinion is that if the iqamah is called and a person is in a voluntary prayer, his prayer becomes invalid, even if only the tashahhud remains. The other opinion is that if the iqamah is called and he is in a voluntary prayer, he should complete it, unless he fears that the imam will say the taslim before he finishes, in which case he should stop. What we have stated is a middle ground between the two opinions, and it has evidence, as we have mentioned.

The questioner : May Allah reward you, O Shaykh.