A man enters the mosque and finds the imam in prostration; should he wait until he rises or prostrate with him?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : Peace be upon you.
The Shaykh : And upon you be peace.
The questioner : The question, O Shaykh: Is it permissible for a worshipper who missed a unit of prayer and found the imam in prostration to say the takbir and then prostrate, or should he wait until the imam rises?
The Shaykh : It is preferable for a person who arrives while the imam is in a certain state to enter the prayer with the imam in whatever state he is in. So if he arrives and finds him in prostration, let him say the takbir and then prostrate, based on the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him):Sahih al-Bukhari 635, and because this prostration in which he prostrates may be a cause for the forgiveness of his sins, so he should not miss it. He prostrates and then stands up with his imam, but he does not count it as a unit of prayer, because a unit of prayer is not caught unless the bowing is caught.
The Shaykh : And upon you be peace.
The questioner : The question, O Shaykh: Is it permissible for a worshipper who missed a unit of prayer and found the imam in prostration to say the takbir and then prostrate, or should he wait until the imam rises?
The Shaykh : It is preferable for a person who arrives while the imam is in a certain state to enter the prayer with the imam in whatever state he is in. So if he arrives and finds him in prostration, let him say the takbir and then prostrate, based on the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him):