If he enters the mosque when the imam has stood up from bowing, what should he say?

 

If I come to the mosque and the imam has stood up from bowing, what should I say at this point? Should I say “Rabbana wa laka al-hamd” or what?.

Praise be to Allaah.

If you enter the mosque
when the imam has stood up from bowing, then you should say the dhikr that
is prescribed at this point, which is Rabbana wa laka’l-hamd, and you should
not say the opening du’aa’, because its place is the beginning of the
prayer, and you should not say A’oodhu Billaahi min al-shaytaan il-rajeem,
because its place is before recitation. 

Al-Bukhaari (689) and
Muslim (411) narrated from Anas (may Allaah be pleased with him) that the
Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said:
“The imam has been appointed to be followed, so when he says takbeer, then
say takbeer; when he prostrates, then prostrate; when he rises, then rise,
and when he says, Sami’a Allaahu liman hamidah, then say Rabbana
wa laka’l-hamd. And if he prays sitting, then you should all pray
sitting.” 

For more information,
please see the answer to question no. 33592 and
43574. 

Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may
Allaah have mercy on him) was asked: If I join the imam when he is bowing,
when I stand up for the second rak’ah should I recite the opening du’aa’ or
not? 

He (may Allaah have mercy
on him) replied: If a person who joins the prayer late joins the imam when
he is bowing, then he should say the opening takbeer first (takbeer
al-ihraam) before bowing, then he should bow, but in this case if he says
the takbeer for bowing it is better, but if he does not say it, it does not
matter. This is the view of the scholars (may Allaah have mercy on them).
Then when he gets up for the second rak’ah, he should not say the opening
du’aa’ because the opening du’aa’ should only be said at the beginning of
the prayer, and the beginning of the prayer has already passed. It is a
Sunnah and he has missed its place, so he should not make it up at a point
which is not the right place for it. But he should seek refuge with Allaah
from the accursed shaytaan before reciting. End quote from Fataawa Noor
‘ala al-Darb. 

To sum up: If a person
catches up with the imam at some point, he should recite the dhikr that is
prescribed at that point, such as if he catches up during the sitting
between the two prostrations, he should say Rabb ighfir li, and if he
catches up during the tashahhud he should recite it, and so on. 

See also the answer to
question no. 69821.

And Allaah knows best.

 

The imam’s saying: “Allaah does not look at a crooked row”

 

We hear a lot our imams saying before starting the prayers: “Allah does not look to a crooked row” is this a prophetic hadeeth or just a saying?.

Praise be to Allaah.

Undoubtedly a crooked row is an improper row, and the
worshippers are sinning if they do not make the row straight, because the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) warned those who do
not make the row straight, and said: “O slaves of Allaah, make your rows
straight or Allaah will create division among you.” As for the hadeeth that
you quoted, “Allaah does not look at a crooked row,” this is not saheeh. End
quote.

Shaykh Muhammad ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allaah have mercy on him). 

Non-traveller praying behind a imam who is a traveller

 

What is the ruling regarding the traveller leading the congregational prayer with the residents praying behind him?. So for instance, in Isha prayer the traveller will lead and give salaam after 2 rakahs, and the residents following with continue to prayer after salaam. Is this correct?.

Praise be to Allaah.

The Sunnah indicates that
it is permissible for a non-traveller to pray behind a traveller, so long as
the non-traveller offers his prayer in full and does not shorten it when the
traveller imam does so. This was narrated in a hadeeth which is attributed
to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and in which
there is some weakness, but it is in accordance with what is understood by
the four madhhabs and others. 

It was narrated that
‘Imraan ibn Husayn (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: 

I went out on campaign with
the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and
I was present with him at the conquest [of Makkah]. He stayed in Makkah for
eighteen days, praying only two rak’ahs [in each four-rak'ah prayer], and he
said: ‘O people of the city, pray with four rak’ahs, for we are people who
are travelling.’” 

Narrated by Abu Dawood (no.
1229); classed as da’eef (weak) by al-Albaani in Da’eef Abi Dawood. 

Maalik narrated in
al-Muwatta’ (2/206) from Ibn Shihaab from Saalim  ibn ‘Abd-Allaah from
his father from ‘Umar ibn al-Khattaab that when he came to Makkah, he would
lead them in praying two rak’ahs, then he would say: “O people of Makkah,
complete your prayer for we are people who are travelling.” 

Ibn Qudaamah (may Allaah
have mercy on him) said:  

The scholars are
unanimously agreed that if the non-resident prays behind a traveller, and
the traveller says the salaam after two rak’ahs, the non-traveller must
offer the prayer in full. It was narrated that ‘Imraan ibn Husayn said:  I
was present with the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah
be upon him) at the conquest [of Makkah]. He stayed in Makkah for eighteen
days, praying only two rak’ahs [in each four-rak'ah prayer], and he said: ‘O
people of the city, pray with four rak’ahs, for we are people who are
travelling.’” Narrated by Abu Dawood. 

And because the prayer was
obligatory for him with four rak’ahs, so he does not have the right to omit
any of its rak’ahs, as would also have been the case if he had not been led
in prayer by a traveller. End quote. 

Al-Mughni
(2/64). 

Al-Kaasaani al-Hanafi (may
Allaah have mercy on him) said: 

A non-traveller following a
traveller (in prayer) is valid … then when the imam says the salaam after
praying two rak'ahs, the non-traveller should not say the salaam, because he
still has to complete his prayer, and if he were to say the salaam (at this
point) his prayer would be invalidated. Rather he should stand up and
complete the prayer with four rak’ahs, because the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Complete it, O people of Makkah, for
we are people who are travelling.” 

When the imam who is
travelling says the salaam, he should say to the non-travellers who are
behind him: “Complete your prayer, for we are people who are travelling,”
following the example of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him). End quote. 

Badaa’i’ al-Sanaa’i’
(1/101). 

Shaykh Ibn Baaz (may Allaah
have mercy on him) said: 

If a non-traveller offers
an obligatory prayer such as Zuhr or ‘Asr or ‘Isha’ behind a traveller, then
he must pray four rak’ahs. Hence he must complete his prayer after the
traveller says the salaam following two rak’ahs. End quote. 

Majmoo’ Fataawa Ibn Baaz
(12/259). 

Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may
Allaah have mercy on him) said: 

It is permissible for the
traveller to be an imam for non-travellers, and when he says the salaam, the
non-travellers should stand up and complete the prayer after he has
finished. But the traveller who leads non-travellers in prayer should tell
them before he prays, “We are travelling so when we say the salaam, complete
the prayer,” because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) prayed in Makkah after the conquest and said: “Complete [your prayers]
O people of Makkah, for we are people who are travelling.” And he would lead
them in praying two rak'ahs, and they would complete their prayers after he
had finished. End quote. 

Majmoo’ Fataawa wa
Rasaa’il al-Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (15/153) 

See also Nayl al-Awtaar
(3/199), al-Mawsoo’ah al-Fiqhiyyah (6/33). 

And Allaah knows best.