Joining the Prayer Late

You will often reach the masjid after the imam has already started. The person who catches some of the prayer with the imam but missed part of it is called the masbooq (المَسْبُوق, “the one who was preceded”). This page explains exactly what to do: how to join, which rak’at count, and how to make up what you missed.

This builds on The Three Modes of Praying. The general rules of following an imam, recite Fatiha to yourself, do not recite a surah behind him, and move only after the imam has reached each next position, all still apply here.

Join immediately, wherever the imam is

Do not wait for the imam to stand up again. Join the prayer in whatever position the imam is in right now, even if he is already in ruku or sujood.

But there is one thing you must always do first, while standing upright:

This is takbirat al-ihram, the opening takbir that enters you into the prayer. It is a pillar ( rukn ), without it you have not entered the prayer at all, so it must be said clearly while you are still standing, before you begin to bow or descend.

• If the imam is standing, say it and stand normally, placing your right hand over your left.
• If the imam is already in ruku, say takbirat al-ihram upright, then say a second “Allahu Akbar” as you bow down to join him in ruku.
• If the imam is in sujood or sitting, say takbirat al-ihram upright, then “Allahu Akbar” as you go down to join him, but joining him here does not earn you that rak’ah (see below).

What counts as catching a rak’ah

The measure is simple and is the key ruling of this whole topic:

Whoever catches the ruku has caught the rak’ah.

You have “caught” a rak’ah if you join the imam and are settled in ruku with him before he rises from it. If you reach the row and the imam straightens up from ruku before you are able to bow into it, that rak’ah is missed, you follow along with him, but you will make it up afterwards.

Two consequences follow:

• If you catch only the ruku (you joined when the imam was already bowing), you did not recite Al-Fatiha for that rak’ah, and that is fine: the imam carries the Fatiha for you in a rak’ah you caught in ruku.
• If you missed the ruku, that rak’ah does not count for you, however far down you then follow the imam.

Do not give salam with the imam

When the imam reaches the final tashahhud, sit with him and follow him, but if you still have rak’at to make up, do not give the tasleem when he does.

The moment the imam gives his first salam, say “Allahu Akbar,” stand back up, and complete the rak’at you missed on your own. You give your own tasleem only at the end of your prayer.

Completing what you missed

How you count the rak’at you complete depends on a point scholars differed over. This guide follows the position of Shaykh Ibn Uthaymeen (and the majority): based on the wording of the hadith “…and whatever you missed, complete it” (fa-atimmu, Bukhari and Muslim):

What you prayed with the imam is the first part of your prayer. What you complete alone is the last part.

The practical results:

• Recitation: recite Al-Fatiha in each rak’ah you make up. Add a short surah only in a rak’ah that is still among the first two of your own prayer, the later rak’at are Fatiha alone. In practice you usually caught your earliest rak’at with the imam, so your make-up rak’at are typically Fatiha only, the surah only reappears if you joined very late and caught just a single rak’ah.
• Sittings: your tashahhud sittings fall where they belong in your own count. A sitting you did while following the imam is simply following him; your real final tashahhud (tawarruk) comes at the true end of your prayer, after your last rak’ah.

The two worked examples below make this concrete.

Worked example: catching 2 of 4 (Dhuhr, Asr, Isha)

You arrive and join the imam in the ruku of his third rak’ah, and pray his 3rd and 4th rak’at with him. You caught 2 rak’at, these are your 1st and 2nd.

1. You followed the imam through those two rak’at (reciting your own Fatiha, no surah, listening to him).
2. You sat with him for his final tashahhud, for you this lands after your 2nd rak’ah, so it serves as your first tashahhud (the testimony). Do not give salam with him.
3. When the imam gives salam, stand up (takbir) and pray 2 more rak’at, your 3rd and 4th: Al-Fatiha only in each (no surah).
4. After your 4th rak’ah, sit for your final tashahhud in tawarruk, recite all three parts, and give your own two tasleems.

Worked example: catching 1 of 3 (Maghrib)

You catch the imam in the ruku of his last rak’ah of Maghrib. You caught 1 rak’ah, this is your 1st.

1. You sat with the imam for his final tashahhud, for you this lands after only your 1st rak’ah, which is not one of your own tashahhud positions. You simply follow him and do not give salam.
2. When the imam gives salam, stand up and pray 2 more rak’at:
   • Your 2nd rak’ah: Al-Fatiha + a short surah (it is the second rak’ah of your own prayer, where the surah is sunnah), then sit for your first tashahhud (testimony only) and stand again.
   • Your 3rd rak’ah: Al-Fatiha only, then your final tashahhud in tawarruk.
3. Give your own two tasleems.

A note on the difference of opinion

The relied-upon Hanbali madhhab (Ibn Qudamah in al-Mughni) takes the other view, based on the narration “…and whatever you missed, make it up” (fa-qdu): that what you catch with the imam is the last part of your prayer and what you complete is the beginning, so you would recite Al-Fatiha and a surah in the rak’at you make up.

Both views are held by major scholars and a prayer prayed on either is valid. This guide follows the first (caught = first part) because the fa-atimmu wording is established in the two Sahihs, in keeping with giving the authentic hadith precedence.

When you are not sure

If you lose track of how many rak’at you caught, build on what you are certain of (the lower number), complete on that basis, and if a genuine doubt remains at the end, you may perform sujud al-sahw. When in doubt about timing while following, the safe rule never changes: wait until the imam has clearly reached the next position before you move.