When One Joins a Congregation

Q. When a person joins the congregational prayer during the second rak’ah, how does he treat his prayer? Should he consider his own or the imam’s count of rak’ahs?

N. Abbas

A. Scholars give the two views about how you count your rak’ahs when you join a congregational prayer that is in progress. Some suggest that you follow the imam’s count, and when he finishes you offer your first rak’ah followed by your second, etc. Others say that your count is separate from that of the imam, which means that when the imam finishes and you have two rak’ahs to complete, these are your last rak’ahs, not the first ones. This is the weightier view in my opinion.