Can those who arrive after the imam salutes follow a masbuq? Is it permissible to follow a masbuq in prayer?
Dear Brother / Sister,
A person who cannot catch up with the imam in the first rak’ah and starts to follow him in the other rak’ahs is called masbuq. After the imam salutes, the masbuq stands up and completes the rak'ahs he has missed.
According to Shafii madhhab, those who arrive late can follow a masbuq but according to Hanafi madhhab, they cannot follow a masbuq.
When a masbuq performs the rak’ahs that he has missed, he is regarded as an individual. In that case, he cannot follow another person nor can anybody follow him. However, a person who is performing a prayer individually is not like that. A masbuq differs from him in this aspect.
If a masbuq follows another masbuq, the prayer of the one that follows is invalidated. (Bahr ar-Raiq / Ibn Nujaym)
If the imam thinks that sajdah as-sahw is necessary for him at the end of the prayer, performs this sajdah and the masbuq follows him and if it is understood later that sajdah as-sahw was not necessary, the prayer of the masbuq is invalidated according to the sound view. For, he followed the imam when he was performing the prayer individually. However, Abu Lays, the fiqh scholar, says that the majority of the congregation today does not know the subtleties and hence we can decree that prayer is not invalidated in that case.
However, if the masbuq does not know that the sajdah that has been performed is not necessary, his prayer is not invalidated. Fatwa is based on this view. (Fatawayi Qadihan)
If the masbuq follows the imam when he stands up for the fifth rak'ah, and if the imam has sat long enough for tashahhud at the end of the fourth rak'ah, the prayer of the masbuq is invalidated. If he has not sat, the prayer of the masbuq is not invalidated. However, if the imam completes this extra rak'ah with sajdah, the prayer of the masbuq is invalidated. In that case, the prayer of the imam is naturally invalidated too; it has to be performed again. (Fatawayi Qadihan) (bk. Celal Yıldırım, Kaynaklarıyla İslam Fıkhı, Uysal Publications: 1/323.)
Questions on Islam
- What should I do if I am late for the congregational prayer and the imam performs sajdah as-sahw?
- If a person who has started to follow the imam later gets up and continues the prayer after the imam salutes to the right and performs sajdah as-sahw, what should he (masbuq) do?
- How does a person who catches up with the imam after the first rak’ah (third rak’ah) in a four-rak’ah prayer (masbuq) complete his prayer?
- If a musafir (traveler) who follows an imam who is a resident exits prayer by saluting after the second rak’ah though he has to perform four rak’ahs, is his prayer valid?
- How is sajdah as-sahw (prostration of forgetfulness) performed according to Shafii madhhab? What are the things that necessitate sajdah as-sahw?
- What should a person who forgets the number of rak’ahs he has performed or who makes a mistake about rak’ahs do?
- If somebody from the congregation does not follow the imam when the imam performs sajdah as-sahw, is his prayer invalidated?
- Is a person who utters takbir only before the time period for a prayer ends regarded to have caught that prayer?
- How is a prostration (sajdah) that is skipped in a prayer performed; does sajdah as-sahw become necessary?
- Is prayer invalidated if somebody skips a verse in qira’ah or if he pronounces a different letter instead of a letter ("sin" instead of "tha")?
