What is the ruling if the imam forgets and says the closing salam before completing his prayer?
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Question:
To the presence of the honorable Shaykh, the respected Abdul Aziz ibn Abdullah ibn Baz, may Allah preserve him.
After greetings and respect:
Peace be upon you, and Allah's mercy and blessings. May the Exalted perpetually bestow upon us and you the blessing of Islam. Along with inquiring about your health, our situation is, by Allah's favor, as you would wish. And after that; may Allah preserve you in His obedience, please rule for us: If the imam forgets in prayer and says the salam for one or two rak'ahs, and then realizes it, is it obligatory for him to say the takbir to begin the remaining ones, or not? May the Exalted preserve you. And peace be upon you, and Allah's mercy and blessings.
Answer:
May Allah perpetuate your life in His obedience, amen! Convey our peace to yourself, to the family, and to the brothers with you. From our side, the family and the brothers send their greetings.
If the imam forgets in prayer and says the salam for two or three [rak'ahs], the ruling in that is that he must complete the prayer if he realizes it or is reminded in a short time. If he said the salam for two [rak'ahs], he returns to the prayer and sits to stand up for the third [rak'ah] with the takbir.
As for if he said the salam for three [rak'ahs], he returns to the prayer with the intention, without the need for the takbir. He stands with the intention of prayer, and the ma'mum (those praying behind him) do the same. Then he recites and completes his prayer, and he performs the prostration for forgetfulness in both cases, meaning if he said the salam for two or three [rak'ahs]. The better in this case is for his prostration to be after the salam. Then he says the salam after the two prostrations of forgetfulness as another salam. And if he prostrates before his salam from the prayer, that suffices and there is no harm.
May Allah grant us and you understanding in the religion and steadfastness upon it.
And peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah and His blessings.
To the presence of the honorable Shaykh, the respected Abdul Aziz ibn Abdullah ibn Baz, may Allah preserve him.
After greetings and respect:
Peace be upon you, and Allah's mercy and blessings. May the Exalted perpetually bestow upon us and you the blessing of Islam. Along with inquiring about your health, our situation is, by Allah's favor, as you would wish. And after that; may Allah preserve you in His obedience, please rule for us: If the imam forgets in prayer and says the salam for one or two rak'ahs, and then realizes it, is it obligatory for him to say the takbir to begin the remaining ones, or not? May the Exalted preserve you. And peace be upon you, and Allah's mercy and blessings.
Answer:
May Allah perpetuate your life in His obedience, amen! Convey our peace to yourself, to the family, and to the brothers with you. From our side, the family and the brothers send their greetings.
If the imam forgets in prayer and says the salam for two or three [rak'ahs], the ruling in that is that he must complete the prayer if he realizes it or is reminded in a short time. If he said the salam for two [rak'ahs], he returns to the prayer and sits to stand up for the third [rak'ah] with the takbir.
As for if he said the salam for three [rak'ahs], he returns to the prayer with the intention, without the need for the takbir. He stands with the intention of prayer, and the ma'mum (those praying behind him) do the same. Then he recites and completes his prayer, and he performs the prostration for forgetfulness in both cases, meaning if he said the salam for two or three [rak'ahs]. The better in this case is for his prostration to be after the salam. Then he says the salam after the two prostrations of forgetfulness as another salam. And if he prostrates before his salam from the prayer, that suffices and there is no harm.
May Allah grant us and you understanding in the religion and steadfastness upon it.
And peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah and His blessings.
Source
binbaz.org.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.