Shar‘i Ruling on Counting the Imam’s Extra Rak‘ah in Prayer
Source: Fatāwā Arkān al-Islām
If the imam mistakenly prays one extra rak‘ah, and I had joined the congregation late, so I counted that extra rak‘ah as part of my prayer — is my prayer valid in this case? And if I did not count that extra rak‘ah and prayed one more rak‘ah myself, what would be the ruling?
Al-ḥamdu lillāh, waṣ-ṣalātu wa-s-salāmu ‘alā Rasūlillāh, ammā ba‘d:
هٰذا ما عندي والله أعلم بالصواب
Source: Fatāwā Arkān al-Islām
Question
If the imam mistakenly prays one extra rak‘ah, and I had joined the congregation late, so I counted that extra rak‘ah as part of my prayer — is my prayer valid in this case? And if I did not count that extra rak‘ah and prayed one more rak‘ah myself, what would be the ruling?
Answer
Al-ḥamdu lillāh, waṣ-ṣalātu wa-s-salāmu ‘alā Rasūlillāh, ammā ba‘d:
- The correct and stronger opinion is that your prayer is valid, because you have completed the required number of rak‘ahs.
- The extra rak‘ah from the imam occurred by mistake, so he is excused.
- Since you counted that extra rak‘ah, your prayer is complete.
- However, if you did not count that extra rak‘ah and then added another rak‘ah yourself without a valid reason, this would be an unwarranted addition to the prayer — making your prayer invalid.
هٰذا ما عندي والله أعلم بالصواب
