Sahih Ibn Khuzaymah

Sayyiduna Mughirah bin Shu’bah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) lagged behind (from the caravan), and Sayyiduna Mughirah bin Shu’bah (may Allah be pleased with him) also stayed behind with him. Then he narrated the complete hadith. He says: Then we reached the people, and Sayyiduna Abdur Rahman bin Awf (may Allah be pleased with him) had already led them in one rak’ah. When he sensed the arrival of the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), he intended to step back, but the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) gestured to him to continue leading the prayer. Then, when Sayyiduna Abdur Rahman (may Allah be pleased with him) completed the prayer and said the salam, the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) and Sayyiduna Mughirah (may Allah be pleased with him) stood up and completed the rak’ah which Sayyiduna Abdur Rahman (may Allah be pleased with him) had already performed before their arrival. Imam Abu Bakr (may Allah have mercy on him) says: Those people have erred in this matter who could not reflect and ponder over it, nor did they use knowledge and wisdom. Some individuals who follow the school of Iraq claim that the part of the prayer which the follower catches with the imam will be considered his last part of the prayer, and (they say that) in this narration there is evidence that the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) and Sayyiduna Mughirah (may Allah be pleased with him) completed the first rak’ah, because Sayyiduna Abdur Rahman (may Allah be pleased with him) had already performed the first rak’ah before their arrival, not the second. Similarly, they have claimed from the statement of the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him): “And whatever part of the prayer you miss with the imam, complete it,” that this is evidence that the follower will make up the initial part of the prayer, not the last part. Every person with understanding and insight will know that this interpretation is against the consensus of all Muslims. Because if the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and Sayyiduna Mughirah (may Allah be pleased with him) had made up the first rak’ah after Sayyiduna Abdur Rahman (may Allah be pleased with him) had said the salam, which they had missed, then they would have completed this rak’ah without sitting (jalsah) and tashahhud, because the rak’ah they missed was the first rak’ah of Sayyiduna Abdur Rahman (may Allah be pleased with him), which was without sitting and tashahhud. All Muslims agree that whoever catches one rak’ah of Fajr prayer with the imam will complete the second rak’ah with sitting, tashahhud, and salam. From this, it becomes clear and correct that the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) did not make up the first rak’ah, in which there is no sitting, tashahhud, or salam, but rather he made up the second rak’ah, in which there is sitting, tashahhud, and salam. And if the meaning of the Prophet’s statement, “Complete whatever part of the prayer you miss,” was that you should make up the missed part of the prayer, as our opponents claim in this matter, then it would be necessary for the person who misses one rak’ah with the imam to perform one rak’ah with standing, bowing, and two prostrations, and not to sit, recite tashahhud, or say salam in it. Whereas the people of Iraq agree with us that he will perform that rak’ah with sitting and tashahhud. From this, it becomes clear that sitting, tashahhud, and saying salam are rulings of the last rak’ah, not the first. Therefore, whoever possesses understanding and insight and is not stubborn or obstinate knows that sitting for tashahhud and saying salam are not for the first rak’ah of the prayer (rather, these are rulings of the second rak’ah).