#464: Ruling on the Prayer of the Qāsiru as-Salāt Praying behind a Resident

QUESTION

” The other question is when you meant to prayer qasir but the imam prayed 4 rakahs instead of two. You joined the prayer at the second rakah, then you rise with them for the 3rd rakah after which you waited for the congregation to perform the last rakah then make Salam with them. Please, what’s the ruling towards this sir?”

ANSWER

Some of the Ulamā allow the manner you have mentioned. But this position is weak, very weak because it is in opposition to the Sunnah of the Sahābah.

Imām Muslim record in the Sahih from Nāfi’ who said:

“Ibn Umar, if he is on a journey, whenever he observes the Salāt with the Imām, he makes four Raka’āt but if he observes the Salāt alone, he observes two raka’āt”

Likewise, He recorded that Mūsā Ibn Salamata Al-Hudhalī said:

“I asked Ibn ‘Abbas, how do I observe the Salāt if I am in Makkah and I am not observing it behind the Imām? He said: two raka’āt, the Sunnah of Abu Al-Qāsim”

And Imām Ahmad recorded in the Musnad, from Ibn ‘Abbās that it was said to him:

“Why would the traveller observe two raka’āt while alone and then four raka’āt if he was following the resident?”

He answered: “that is the sunnah”

For this Hadīth and others saying similar, the Ulamā hold that as long as the traveller observed the Salāt behind the Resident, he must observe the full raka’āt. Regardless of the number of raka’āt he missed or met.

Imām Ibn Qudāmah Al-Maqdisī – rahimahullāh – said:

‘And if he joins the Salāt of the resident while he is a traveller, he must complete it. The summary of this is that once the traveller joins the resident, he has to complete the number of raka’āt. This is regardless of whether he meets all of the Salāt, a single raka’a or part of it….”

He also said:

“Al-Athram said: I asked Abū Abdillah on the traveller that prays behind the residents. He said: he is to observe four raka’āt.
“This is what is narrated from Ibn ‘Umar, Ibn ‘Abbas and some of the Tābi’īn. This is also the verdict of Ath-Thawrī, Al-Awzā’ī, Ash-Shāfi’ī, Abū Thawr and the People of Ra’ay”

The Abū ‘Abdillah he means here is Imām Ahmad – rahimahullāh.

For this reason, you ought to have completed the Salāt with the Imām and then observe the raka’āt that you missed.

We ask Allāh to grant us tawfīq and sound knowledge, āmīn.

Bārakallāhu Fīkum
Jazākumullāhu Khayran.

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