Catching the Congregation
Question: A man arrives intending to join the congregational prayer but finds the worshippers in the final tashahhud. He sits with them, pronounces the salām when the imām does, and then starts the prayer afresh on his own. Is this permissible? Does catching the final tashahhud mean he has caught the congregation—or at least the reward for praying in congregation—or not?
Answer: The correct view is that one only catches the congregational prayer by catching a full rakʿah (unit of prayer). Nevertheless, if a person comes while the imām is in the final tashahhud, he should join him so as to obtain the reward for following the imām. As for the distinctive merit of the congregation, the preponderant scholarly opinion is that it is acquired only by catching an entire rakʿah.
If he joins during the final tashahhud, it is not permissible for him to pronounce the salām with the imām. Rather, when the imām concludes with the salām, he must rise and complete the portions of the prayer he missed; he may not give the salām. Should he deliberately end the prayer with the imām, his prayer is invalid. If, however, he does so out of forgetfulness or ignorance, his prayer remains valid but he must perform the prostration of forgetfulness (sujūd al-sahw).
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Catching a Rakʿah by Catching the Bowing
Question: If a man arrives for the prayer, finds the imām in bowing, bows with him, and therefore does not recite Sūrat al-Fātihah, is his prayer valid? I have heard the ḥadīth, “There is no prayer for the one who does not recite the Opening of the Book.” Please clarify, and may you be rewarded.
Answer: Whoever arrives while the imām is in bowing should pronounce the opening takbīr while