The ruling on omitting the prostration of recitation in the congregational prayer
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Q: The brother (M. S. A.) from Thuqah in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia says in his question: I prayed Maghrib with one of the imams, and he recited Surat al-'Alaq in the first rak'ah: [Al-'Alaq 96:1], and after the takbir he performed the prostration of recitation, but I was surprised to hear him say, "Allahu sami'aman hamidah," meaning that he did not perform the prostration of recitation. So I stood up and continued the rak'ah with him without bowing. After the taslim, I stood up and performed a rak'ah in place of the first rak'ah in which I was unable to bow with the imam.
I ask the Shaykh to inform me about my action: did it conform to the correct procedure or not? I also ask to be informed about the imam's omission of the prostration of recitation. Please issue a ruling, may Allah reward you with good.
A: It is prescribed for the imam, if he recites a verse of prostration in the congregational prayer, to prostrate in emulation of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in that. And whoever does not prostrate, there is no blame on him; because the prostration of recitation is a recommended practice and not obligatory.
And the evidence for that is: it is established from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that Zayd ibn Thabit recited Surat al-Najm for him, and he did not prostrate in it, and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did not order him to prostrate. That indicates that it is not obligatory.
As for you, your prayer is valid. The best for you, when you realized that he did not prostrate, is to stand up and complete standing, then bow and be composed in the bowing, then stand up and be composed in standing, then follow your imam. There is no blame on you for falling behind him; because you are excused due to your lack of knowledge that he was bowing. And likewise, if the ma'mum is distracted when the imam bows by drowsiness, whispering, or the like, and he does not notice until the imam has risen from the bowing, then he bows and is composed, then rises and is composed, then follows his imam, and there is no blame on him; because he did not intentionally fall behind. And Allah is the One who grants success.
Recite in the name of your Lord who created -
اقْرَأْ بِاسْمِ رَبِّكَ الَّذِي خَلَقَI ask the Shaykh to inform me about my action: did it conform to the correct procedure or not? I also ask to be informed about the imam's omission of the prostration of recitation. Please issue a ruling, may Allah reward you with good.
A: It is prescribed for the imam, if he recites a verse of prostration in the congregational prayer, to prostrate in emulation of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in that. And whoever does not prostrate, there is no blame on him; because the prostration of recitation is a recommended practice and not obligatory.
And the evidence for that is: it is established from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that Zayd ibn Thabit recited Surat al-Najm for him, and he did not prostrate in it, and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did not order him to prostrate. That indicates that it is not obligatory.
As for you, your prayer is valid. The best for you, when you realized that he did not prostrate, is to stand up and complete standing, then bow and be composed in the bowing, then stand up and be composed in standing, then follow your imam. There is no blame on you for falling behind him; because you are excused due to your lack of knowledge that he was bowing. And likewise, if the ma'mum is distracted when the imam bows by drowsiness, whispering, or the like, and he does not notice until the imam has risen from the bowing, then he bows and is composed, then rises and is composed, then follows his imam, and there is no blame on him; because he did not intentionally fall behind. And Allah is the One who grants success.
Source
binbaz.org.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.