When the Imam Bows Before the Follower Has Completed al-Fatihahإذا ركع الإمام قبل أن يُتمّ المأموم قراءة الفاتحة

Questioner: Peace be upon you, O Shaykh. If the imam bows before the follower has finished reciting al-Fatihah, does he follow the imam, or does he complete al-Fatihah and then bow, even if the imam has risen from the bowing?

The brother says: if the imam bows and the follower has not completed reciting al-Fatihah, does he bow with the imam without completing al-Fatihah, or does he complete al-Fatihah — even if the imam has risen — and then follow him? This requires some detail.

If this follower had just entered the prayer, then begun al-Fatihah, and then the imam bowed, he does not need to complete it; he follows the imam at that point, because he did not join from the beginning of the prayer. For example, suppose you joined the imam, said "Allahu akbar," then recited the opening supplication, then said, "All praise is for Allah, Lord of the worlds, the Most Merciful, the Especially Merciful," and then [the imam] bowed. Here, no time came upon you in which reciting al-Fatihah was obligatory, so in this situation you follow the imam and al-Fatihah is dropped from you, just as it was dropped from Abu Bakrah when he arrived while the imam was bowing — and this is in Sahih al-Bukhari.

The second situation is where you had [already] joined the imam, such that this is, for example, your second rak'ah, or the third or fourth of a four-rak'ah prayer. This is a matter of disagreement when you are reciting al-Fatihah and then the imam bows, with several views.

The first view: when the imam bows, you break off and bow with him, and when he gives the salam you make up a rak'ah — because this is [the case of] a silent prayer, not an audible one, and al-Fatihah in a silent prayer is obligatory; behind an audible recitation, however, it is not.

The second view: you complete al-Fatihah, even if the imam has risen. Those who hold this say that the imam's getting ahead [of you] by a pillar does no harm; this is narrated from a group of the Malikis and the Hanbalis, who say that if the imam gets ahead by a pillar, it has no effect. They say that the greater prohibition is for you to get ahead of the imam, not for the imam to get ahead of you, because of his statement ﷺ, "Does the one who raises his head before the imam not fear that Allah will turn his form into the form of a donkey?" — agreed upon. This is a grave prohibition. (audio unclear) The proponents of this view say that it is possible in this situation to catch up with the imam: if he bows and rises, you bow after that and follow him.

But the proponents of the first view, who reject this position, cite as evidence the statement of the Prophet ﷺ, "The imam has only been appointed to be followed: so when he says takbir, say takbir; when he bows, bow; when he says, 'Allah hears the one who praises Him,' say, 'Our Lord, and to You belongs all praise'; and when he prostrates, prostrate." This is evidence that the follower follows the imam and does not lag behind him, and this is a strong view. Whoever acts upon the other view — the matter is one of ijtihad, in which there is strong disagreement among the scholars.

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