Answer: According to the established position of the school, the congregation is missed when the imam says the taslim before the latecomer has pronounced the opening takbir. Thus, if the imam says the taslim before you pronounce the opening takbir, you have missed the congregation. But if you pronounce the opening takbir before he says the first taslim, then you have caught the congregation.

Accordingly, we say to one who began a voluntary prayer before the iqamah for the prescribed prayer: Continue, unless you fear that the imam will say the taslim before you finish. In that case, cut it short. For if you fear that the imam will say the taslim before you finish, this entails a conflict between a voluntary act and an obligation: congregational prayer is obligatory, whereas the voluntary prayer is supererogatory, and what is obligatory takes precedence over what is voluntary. This situation rarely occurs, except, for example, in the dawn prayer, when the imam is quick and you began the voluntary prayer only shortly before the iqamah. In that case, you may fear missing the congregation. But in a four- or three-unit prayer, ordinarily you would not fear missing the congregation. Based on the author’s statement, we would say: Complete the voluntary prayer, even if you catch only the opening takbir before the imam says the first taslim.

What we consider correct in this matter is that if you are in the second rak'ah, you should complete it briefly; but if you are in the first rak'ah, you should cut it short.

Our evidence for this is the Prophet’s statement, peace and blessings be upon him: “Whoever catches one rak'ah of the prayer has caught the prayer.” (1) A person who has prayed one rak'ah before the iqamah was called has caught one rak'ah of the prayer free from the opposing factor—namely, the commencement of the prescribed prayer. Thus, by catching that rak'ah before the prohibition, he has caught the prayer; so let him complete it briefly. But if he is in the first rak'ah, even if he is at