a single rakʿah, or even less; and even if he comes in during the final tashahhud before the salām, he must still complete the prayer. This is the sounder of the two opinions among the scholars, for it is authentically reported from Ibn ʿAbbās—through the narration of Mūsā ibn Salama—who said: “We were with Ibn ʿAbbās in Mecca, and I said, ‘When we are with you we pray four, but when we return to our tents we pray two.’ He replied, ‘That is the Sunnah of Abū al-Qāsim ﷺ.’” (1)

Ibn ʿUmar likewise, whenever he prayed behind the imam, would perform four rakʿahs, but when he prayed it alone he performed two. (2)

Imām Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr recorded the near-consensus of the majority of jurists that if a traveller joins the residents’ congregational prayer and catches one rakʿah of it, he is required to pray four. (3) And he said: