The Ruling on the Order Between Prayers

Q: If a person sleeps through the 'Asr prayer and does not wake up until the iqamah for the Maghrib prayer, should he pray Maghrib to catch the reward of the congregational prayer and then pray 'Asr, or is it better to maintain the order and pray 'Asr alone first, then Maghrib? Or what is the solution?

A: If he is able to pray 'Asr alone so that the order is maintained, and then pray Maghrib with them, that is obligatory. He should hasten to pray 'Asr immediately, and then pray Maghrib with them. If that is not possible, the stronger view is that he prays Maghrib with them with the intention of 'Asr. When the imam concludes the prayer, he stands and performs the fourth rak'ah, and then he prays Maghrib afterwards, in order to preserve the order between them and to act in accordance with all the evidence.