it is the final rakʿah, so that he may catch the congregational prayer. However, this is conditional upon its not causing hardship to the congregants. For example, if he hears someone whose walking is slow due to old age, and the mosque door is far from the row, such that he would take several minutes to reach the row, then he should not wait for him, because that would cause hardship to the congregants. A brief wait, however, is unobjectionable.

If someone were to say: What is the evidence for this ruling? For lengthening or shortening the prayer is an act of worship, and it must be supported by evidence.

We say: The evidence may be drawn from the following:

First: “When the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, heard a child crying, he would shorten his prayer, fearing that the child’s mother would be distressed” (1). Here, he altered the manner of the prayer for the sake of an individual’s interest—so that the child’s mother would not be distressed and her heart preoccupied with her child.

Second: the Prophet’s lengthening of the first rakʿah of the prayer, to the extent that a man would hear the iqāmah, go to al-Baqīʿ, relieve himself, then perform ablution, and then come while the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, was still in the first rakʿah (2). The purpose of this was so that people could catch the first rakʿah.

Third: the lengthening of the second rakʿah in the Prayer of Fear, so that the second group could catch the prayer.

These three principles may serve as the basis for the view that it is recommended to wait for one entering the mosque while bowing, on condition that this does not cause hardship to any congregant, and because it is a kindness to the person entering without causing hardship to those praying with him.