(F 289) My friends and I are visiting Istanbul for four days, and we are combining and shortening our prayers. Today, we visited the Blue Mosque (Al-Masjid al-᾽Azraq) and entered just as the ῾Asr prayer was being established. We had not yet prayed Dhuhr. After the prayer, we discussed and found that: One of us prayed two Rak῾ahs with the intention of Dhuhr, then joined the Imam for the last Rak῾ah of ῾Asr, and completed ῾Asr with four Rak῾ahs since he was following a resident Imam. Another prayed two Rak῾ahs with the intention of Dhuhr, then joined the Imam for the last Rak῾ah of ῾Asr, and completed ῾Asr with two Rak῾ahs since he was not following the Imam after the Taslīm. A third person joined the Imam with the intention of ῾Asr and prayed ῾Asr with four Rak῾ahs, then prayed Dhuhr afterwards with two Rak῾ahs, not maintaining the order of the prayers. The fourth person joined the Imam with the intention of Dhuhr shortened, then intended to separate from the Imam during the first Tashahhud and uttered Taslīm for his prayer. He then joined the Imam again with the intention of ῾Asr shortened and finished with the Imam. The question is, what is the correct action in these cases? Do any of us need to repeat the two prayers? – International Institute of Islamic Studies

(F 289) My friends and I are visiting Istanbul for four days, and we are combining and shortening our prayers. Today, we visited the Blue Mosque (Al-Masjid al-᾽Azraq) and entered just as the ῾Asr prayer was being established. We had not yet prayed Dhuhr. After the prayer, we discussed and found that: One of us prayed two Rak῾ahs with the intention of Dhuhr, then joined the Imam for the last Rak῾ah of ῾Asr, and completed ῾Asr with four Rak῾ahs since he was following a resident Imam. Another prayed two Rak῾ahs with the intention of Dhuhr, then joined the Imam for the last Rak῾ah of ῾Asr, and completed ῾Asr with two Rak῾ahs since he was not following the Imam after the Taslīm. A third person joined the Imam with the intention of ῾Asr and prayed ῾Asr with four Rak῾ahs, then prayed Dhuhr afterwards with two Rak῾ahs, not maintaining the order of the prayers. The fourth person joined the Imam with the intention of Dhuhr shortened, then intended to separate from the Imam during the first Tashahhud and uttered Taslīm for his prayer. He then joined the Imam again with the intention of ῾Asr shortened and finished with the Imam. The question is, what is the correct action in these cases? Do any of us need to repeat the two prayers?

The one who prayed two Rak῾ahs of Dhuhr on his own and then joined the Imam for ῾Asr and prayed four Rak῾ahs did it correctly. This action is in line with the four schools of Islamic thought, especially according to the majority of Ḥanafīs, Mālikīs, and Ḥanbalīs, who emphasize the importance of maintaining the order of the five daily prayers.
The one who prayed Dhuhr on his own and then joined the Imam for part of ῾Asr and prayed only two Rak῾ahs invalidated his ῾Asr prayer and needs to repeat it. This is because he did not complete the full prayer with the Imam. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “The Imam is appointed to be followed, so do not differ from him.” The Imam completed four Rak῾ahs, so the follower must also complete them. The intention of the prayer involves both the individual obligation and following the Imam. If the individual obligation is to complete the prayer, he must continue after the Imam’s Taslīm. If it is to shorten, then the obligation of following applies.
The one who joined the Imam and prayed four Rak῾ahs of ῾Asr, then prayed Dhuhr with two Rak῾ahs, has a valid prayer according to the Shāfi῾ī school, which does not require maintaining the order of prayers. However, this differs from the Ḥanbalī school, which mandates order, and the Ḥanafī and Mālikī schools, which mandate it if the prayers are within the same day.
The one who joined the Imam with the intention of separating cannot separate before the Imam finishes, even according to those who permit the intention of separation. An example is someone praying Maghrib with an Imam who is praying ῾Ishā᾽; he cannot separate until the Imam finishes. He must sit in the fourth Rak῾ah with the Imam until the Imam completes his prayer and then finish.

Based on this, the fourth case invalidates both Dhuhr and ῾Asr prayers because he separated from the Imam after two Rak῾ahs while the Imam was still praying, and then he uttered Taslīm with the Imam after another two Rak῾ahs, which invalidates the prayer due to lack of following in both instances.

Fatwā issued by Dr. Khālid Naṣr