The Ruling on Leading a Latecomer in Prayer
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
This is Muhammad Mubakhut al-Rashidi from Salalah, Sultanate of Oman. In this message he sent to the program, he says: I attended the 'Asr prayer and joined in the third rak'ah. After the imam finished the prayer, I stood up to complete what I had missed of the prayer. During that time, a Muslim came and prayed behind me, making me his imam. Is it permissible for me to be his imam, and does he get the reward of congregational prayer? Please inform us, may Allah reward you.
Answer: There is no harm in that, if Allah wills. According to the correct view, he is a follower and you are the imam, and it is hoped that you both will receive the virtue of congregational prayer. However, if he prays alone and you complete your prayer alone, that is perhaps safer, in order to avoid the disagreement of the scholars who prohibit that. Yes.
The presenter: May Allah reward you.
Answer: There is no harm in that, if Allah wills. According to the correct view, he is a follower and you are the imam, and it is hoped that you both will receive the virtue of congregational prayer. However, if he prays alone and you complete your prayer alone, that is perhaps safer, in order to avoid the disagreement of the scholars who prohibit that. Yes.
The presenter: May Allah reward you.
Source
binbaz.org.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.