Should one who joins the prayer late recite the opening du‘aa’?
Question: 135290
The opening du‘aa’ (du‘aa’ al-istiftaah) should come at the beginning of the prayer. If I join the congregation at the beginning of the second rak‘ah, for example, should I recite it or have I missed the time for it? In other words, should the opening du‘aa’ be recited only in the first rak‘ah, and after that should it not be recited? Or is it that whenever the worshipper starts his prayer, he should say it even if he did not say it in the first rak‘ah?
Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah and his family.
The opening du‘aa’
is Sunnah according to the majority of scholars, and whenever the worshipper
catches up with his imam in the first or second rak‘ah, he should recite the
opening du‘aa’, so long as he is not worried that the imam will bow (too
soon). But if he is worried that the imam will bow, then he should recite
al-Faatihah only, because reciting it is obligatory.
An-Nawawi (may
Allah have mercy on him) said: If one who joins the prayer late starts to
pray, then the imam says Ameen immediately after he has started to pray,
then he should say Ameen and then recite the opening du‘aa’, because the
saying ameen is brief. If the one who joins the prayer late catches up with
the imam in the final tashahhud, he should say takbeer and sit down, then if
the imam says the salaam as soon as he has sat down, then he should stand up
(to make up what he has missed of the prayer) and not say the opening
du‘aa’, because he has missed the place for it.
End quote from
al-Majmoo‘, 3/275
He also said: If
he catches up with him when he is still standing, and he knows that he will
be able to recite the opening du‘aa’ and seek refuge with Allah and recite
al-Faatihah, then he must do so. This was stated by ash-Shaafa‘i in
al-Umm, and also by our companions. … If he knows that he will only be
able to recite part of the opening du‘aa’ and seek refuge with Allah and
recite al-Faatihah, and he will not be able to do all of it, he should do
what he is able to do. This was stated in al-Umm.
End quote from
al-Majmoo‘, 3/276
Shaykh ‘Abd
al-‘Azeez (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
If the latecomer
joins the prayer when the imam is reaching the end of his recitation, before
bowing, should he start his prayer with the opening du‘aa’, or should he
join the imam and remain silent?
He replied:
If the latecomer
arrives when the imam is bowing, he should bow with him, and not recite the
opening du‘aa’ or recite any Qur’an; rather he should say takbeer and bow.
But if he comes when the imam is still standing and there is plenty of time,
then he should recite the opening du‘aa’ and al-Faatihah. This is what is
prescribed for him: to recite the opening du‘aa’ and then al-Faatihah, even
in the prayers in which the imam recites out loud. If there is a pause where
the imam falls silent, he should recite it at that time; otherwise he should
recite it to himself, then after that he should listen attentively to the
imam. But if he comes late, when the imam is bowing, then he should say
takbeer and bow, and the requirement to recite al-Faatihah is waived in this
case, because he is excused.
End quote from
Majmoo‘ al-Fataawa, 30/150
And Allah knows
best.
Source:
Islam Q&A
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