Continuation of the chapter: The imam is only appointed to be followed.

The Shaykh : By the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): So we were commanded to perform these pillars immediately after the imam. This is general, so the correct view is that one should not delay; whenever the imam raises his head, one should raise his head without delay. But if one does not realize it until after the imam has already raised his head, do we say, "Bow down"? We say: As for following the analogy of the statement of Ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him), we say, "Bow down" to make up what you missed with the imam's bowing. And according to the view we have preferred, one does not bow down because the imam has reached his position. This is if he bowed down and then raised his head. But if he was negligent and unaware until the imam bowed down and then raised his head while he had not bowed down, then at that time we say he must bow down because he did not perform the pillar. He bows down and then follows his imam. Is that clear, everyone? So the situations are three. First, if he raises his head before his imam and then remembers before the imam raises his head, what is obligatory for him? He must return. But does he remain standing for the duration of the imam's raising? According to the statement of Ibn Mas'ud, he remains. According to the preferred view, he does not. The second situation is if he bows down with his imam and raises his head before him, and then does not remember until the imam raises his head. Here we say he does not bow down, because if he bows down, he has completely contradicted the imam. However, it is possible, following the analogy of the statement of Ibn Mas'ud, that he bows down to make up what he missed, but according to the preferred view, he does not bow down. The third situation is if he did not bow down with the imam, meaning the imam bowed down and then raised his head while he was unaware. What do we say? We say, "Bow down, make up the bowing, and then follow the imam." This happens often in the issue of recitation; a person may be unaware until he finds that his imam has bowed down and raised his head. Likewise, in prostration, sometimes. Al-Hasan said regarding the one who bowed down with the imam for two rak'ahs but is unable to prostrate: he prostrates for the last rak'ah. There are two versions: the last one and the last one prostrates twice, then he makes up the first rak'ah with its prostration because he did not prostrate in it, so he is obligated to make it up with its prostration. And regarding the one who forgot, he said regarding the one who forgot a prostration until he stood up: he prostrates, meaning he returns and prostrates. An example of this is a person who stands up from the first prostration, saying, "My Lord, forgive me and have mercy on me," and then rises to standing without the prostration and remembers while standing. What does he do? He returns and prostrates, then completes his prayer, then prostrates for forgetfulness after the salam. There is no difference between whether he had begun the recitation or not, because the preferred view in this issue is that if a person leaves a pillar of a rak'ah, he returns to it as long as he has not reached it in the second rak'ah. If he reaches it in the second rak'ah, the second rak'ah takes the place of the rak'ah from which he left it. Yes.