Transitions in Prayer.

The Shaykh : Transitions in prayer, from leading to following, as in this hadith, are valid. It is also valid to transition from following to leading, the reverse of this, if something happens to the imam in his prayer and he appoints a substitute to complete the prayer with them. Here, the follower transitions from following to leading. One also transitions from leading to praying alone, as if two people were praying and the follower’s ablution was invalidated; here, he transitions from leading to praying alone. Likewise, one transitions from following to praying alone, as if in this scenario the imam had an invalidating event; the follower remains alone after following, according to the stronger opinion that the follower’s prayer is not invalidated by the invalidation of the imam’s prayer. One transitions from praying alone to leading, as if a person entered alone and then another person entered with him; that is valid in obligatory prayer and voluntary prayer. It was said that it is not valid in obligatory or voluntary prayer, and it was said that it is valid in voluntary but not obligatory prayer. The correct view is that it is valid in both voluntary and obligatory prayer, because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) prayed alone, and Ibn Abbas stood with him, and he approved of it. What is established in obligatory prayer is established in voluntary prayer unless there is good evidence. One can transition from praying alone to following, such as if a person begins his prayer alone and then a congregation gathers, so he joins them; there is no harm in that. The important point is that all transitions that return to a description are permissible. It is also valid to transition from one imam to another, as in the story of Abu Bakr, where the people transitioned from the leadership of Abu Bakr to the leadership of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). As for transitioning from one act of worship to another of the same type, transitioning from a specific to a specific, or from a general to a specific, is not valid. An example of transitioning from a specific to a specific is moving from the Dhuhr prayer to the Asr prayer, or from the Asr prayer to the Dhuhr prayer. A man entered the Asr prayer and then remembered that he had prayed Dhuhr without ablution, so he intended this prayer for Dhuhr; it is not valid, neither for Dhuhr nor for Asr. Why? It is not valid for Asr because he transitioned away from it, and it is not valid for Dhuhr because he did not begin it with the opening takbir of the prayer; the first prayer was Asr, and prayer cannot be combined. Transitioning from a general to a specific, such as if a person was performing a general voluntary prayer and then remembered that he had not performed Witr, so he intended it for Witr, is not valid. Or if he remembered that he had not prayed Fajr without ablution, so he intended it for Fajr, it is not valid. Transitioning from a specific to a general is valid, because the specific includes two intentions: a general intention and a specific intention. The one who prays Fajr, for example, intends the prayer and Fajr. If he cancels Fajr, the intention of the prayer remains. So if a man begins the Asr prayer, and he is a traveler, and the prayer of a traveler is two rak'ahs, and then he decides to make it a general voluntary prayer because he has time, he transitions to a general voluntary prayer, and there is no harm. However, if the time for the specific prayer becomes narrow, he does not transition to a general voluntary prayer, because the time has become specific for this obligatory prayer.