A traveler entered a town while they were praying the 'Asr prayer, having prayed neither the Zuhr nor the 'Asr, so he joined them in the first two rak'ahs with the intention of Zuhr, then he said the taslim from the first tashahhud and stood up and joined them with the intention of 'Asr in the last two rak'ahs

The questioner : Shaykh, may Allah bless you: A traveler entered a town while they were praying the 'Asr prayer, and he had not prayed either the Zuhr or the 'Asr, so he joined them in the first two rak'ahs with the intention of Zuhr, then he said the taslim from the first tashahhud, and stood up and joined them with the intention of 'Asr in the last two rak'ahs. Is this prayer of his valid?

The Shaykh : His prayer is not valid, and that is because when a person joins the imam while he is completing the prayer, he must complete it, based on the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): , and Ibn 'Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him and his father) was asked: , and based on that we say to the brother: It is obligatory for you to repeat the prayer, the Zuhr prayer as four rak'ahs, and the 'Asr prayer as four rak'ahs as well, for the sake of following the imam, so you, may Allah reward you with good, convey this to him, and say: It is obligatory for you to pray four rak'ahs for the Zuhr and four rak'ahs for the 'Asr.