Aslam

Praise be to Allah.According to the correct view, you can only catch

up with the prayer in jamaa’ah if you catch up with and do a rak’ah

with the imaam. Merely catching up with the tashahhud or what comes before

the tashahhud, but not with the rak’ah, does not count as having caught

up with the prayer in jamaa’ah. I offer you my condolences for your

great loss if you have caught up with nothing of the prayer except the

tashahhud. The evidence (daleel) for this is the hadeeth of Abu Hurayrah

(may Allaah be pleased with him), who said that the Prophet

(peace

and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever catches up with a

rak’ah of the prayer has caught up with the prayer.” (Narrated by

al-Bukhaari in al-Mawaaqeet, Baab man adraka min al-salaah rak’ah,

580; Muslim, Kitaab al-masaajid, 607).

This is the correct scholarly view; and it is the

view of Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allaah have mercy on him), and

is the view favoured by Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allaah preserve him).

It is the view which is supported and strengthened by the evidence.

With regard to reciting al-Faatihah in the

prayer, this is one of the most important of the arkaan al-salaah

(pillars or essential parts of the prayer), and the prayer is not valid

without it, because the Prophet

(peace and blessings of Allaah be

upon him) said: “There is no salaah for the one who does not recite the

Opening of the Book.” But if a person is praying with the imaam and

catches up with him during the rukoo’, for example, and he does rukoo’

without reciting al-Faatihah, this is OK, and the imaam’s recitation

will count as his recitation, because of the famous hadeeth of Abu Bakrah

(may Allaah be pleased with him), “May Allaah increase your keenness,

but do not do this again.”

But if the imaam is clearly rushing, as you say,

then the essential element of tranquillity and measured pace is not there

(such as the prayer of some of the Hanafis), so the prayer offered behind

him is not valid, because he is not qualified to lead it and because one

of the essential elements of the prayer – that of a measured pace – is

lacking. This condition is based on the famous hadeeth about the one who

did not pray properly. But if it is only the case of the imam reciting

relatively fast and he is able to maintain the required measured pace, in

this case it is usually possible to recite Soorat al-Faatihah behind him,

and if you can recite it faster, there is nothing wrong with that. But if

you are not reciting al-Faatihah for another reason, such as laziness or

forgetfulness, or because you joined the prayer late, then this does not

affect your prayer, which is still valid, and the imaam’s recitation

counts as your recitation.

The Muslim must hasten to prayer as soon as the

call is given. This is one of the attributes of the believers whose hearts

are attached to the mosques. Being late and only coming when the iqaamah

has been given is a sign of weak faith and little desire to do good and be

obedient. The Prophet

(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)

would be attending to his family’s needs, then when Bilaal gave the call

to prayer, he would stop what he was doing and rush to pray. He

(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to say, “Let us relax

with it [the prayer], O Bilaal” and, “My delight has been made in

prayer.” Whenever something distressed or worried him, he would hasten

to pray. But those who are lazy and do not come to the mosque until the

iqaamah has been given or during the prayer or during the tashahhud should

check and rebuke themselves, for the believer’s deeds will say to him in

his grave: “By Allaah, I only saw you quick to obey Allaah and slow to

disobey Him.” But in the case of the munaafiq (hypocrite) and faasiq

(evildoer), his deeds will say: “By Allaah, I only saw you slow to obey

Allaah and quick to disobey Him.” (This is a hadeeth narrated by Imaam

Ahmad. It was classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Ahkaam al-Janaa’iz,

where he also mentioned its isnaads).

Allaah described the munaafiqeen (hypocrites) as

follows (interpretation of the meaning): “And when they stand up for

al-salaah (the prayer), they stand with laziness” [al-Nisaa’ 4:142].

So let people pay attention to the seriousness of this matter, and let

Muslim women too beware of delaying the prayer until the last moments and

beware of letting worldly concerns distract them from paying attention to

the provision of the Hereafter… Whoever gets used to praying regularly

on time with the jamaa’ah in the mosque when the call (adhaan) is given

will find that this becomes his main concern and will no longer neglect

it, in sha Allaah. Whoever tries this will find deep joy, tranquillity and

peace of heart and mind in the prayer. This will enable him to attain the

proper sense of humility (khushoo’) when he stands before Allaah. One of

the favours of Allaah to people is when a year goes by and a person never

misses a single fard prayer with the jamaa’ah, except for a valid

excuse. The sincere believer gets very upset if one day he sleeps and

misses the prayer, or is late for the prayer because of some worldly

matter, and all of the matters of this world are insignificant and

fleeting. This is one of the ways in which Allaah helped His slaves to

obey Him and remain steadfast.

If the iqaamah has been given, the worshipper

must join the jamaa’ah straight away, even in the Fajr prayer and even

if the imaam is reciting a lengthy passage, because of the hadeeth of Abu

Hurayrah (may Allaah be pleased with him) who said that the Prophet

(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Once the iqaamah for

the prayer has been given, there is no prayer except the prescribed

(obligatory) prayer).” (Narrated by Muslim in Kitaab Salaat

al-Musaafireen, Baab 710). In this case any other prayer is not valid.

For example, if a person starts a naafil prayer then the iqaamah is given,

he has to stop his prayer, then make it up, if he wants to, after the

(fard) prayer. If he completes the (naafil) prayer, it will not count and

will be invalid.

Some scholars said that if he is nearing the end

of his naafil prayer, he can complete it if he knows that he will be able

to catch up with the first Takbeer (Takbeerat al-Ihraam), because the

point is to hasten to join the imaam in the prayer.

And Allaah knows best.