May a latecomer who forgets his remaining rakahs rely on another latecomer?
2026-10-13
F136 · Selected fatwas
Shaykh Ibn ʿUthaymīn
الشيخ محمد بن صالح العثيمين
Original Q&A · Full displayed answer
The answer concerns people who joined the imam together. Preserve Ibn Uthaymeen’s condition: the person relying on his neighbour has no contrary supposition or certainty. He identifies this as the stronger view.
النص العربي
السؤال الأصلي
فضيلة الشيخ، بعض الناس يأتي بعد إقامة الصلاة، ويدخل مع الإمام، وينسى عدد الركعات التي فاتته، ثم يقتدي بمن في جانبه ممن دخل الصلاة معه فما حكم ذلك؟
الجواب
هذا يقع كثيرا كما قلت: يدخل اثنان مع الإمام، ثم ينسى أحدهما كم صلى، أو كم أدرك مع إمامه، فيقتدي بالشخص الذي إلى جنبه، فنقول: لا بأس أن يقتدي بالشخص الذي إلى جنبه، إذا لم يكن عنده ظن يخالفه أو يقين يخالفه؛ لأن هذا رجوع إلى ما يغلب على ظنه، والرجوع إلى ما يغلب على ظنه في باب العبادات لا بأس به على القول الراجح.
English translation
English rendering prepared for SalafAlSalih.com from the cited Arabic answer. Not an official translation.
Original question
Esteemed Shaykh, some people arrive after the iqamah and join the imam. They forget how many rakahs they missed, then follow the person beside them who joined the prayer with them. What is the ruling on this?
Answer
This happens often, as you said: two people join the imam, then one forgets how much he has prayed or how much he caught with his imam, so he follows the person beside him. We say: there is no objection to his following the person beside him, provided he has neither a contrary supposition nor contrary certainty. This is reliance on what he considers most likely, and relying on what one considers most likely in matters of worship is permissible according to the stronger view.
Source and editorial notes
Fiqh al-ʿIbādāt, 13th edition, 1441 AH, question 99, p.168
فقه العبادات
Fiqh al-ʿIbādāt
Arabic transcribed and compared against the cited scan and adjacent context.