The Practical Conclusion Concerning the Latecomer

We can therefore distinguish three situations. If the person catches the first rukūʿ, he has caught the rakʿah according to the positions discussed. If he misses the entire rakʿah, including both rukūʿs, he has missed the rakʿah and must complete what he missed. But if he misses the first rukūʿ and catches the second, this is the actual point of scholarly disagreement. One group of scholars says that he has missed the rakʿah and must subsequently perform an entire rakʿah. Another group considers the second rukūʿ sufficient for catching the rakʿah. The latter is the established Mālikī position and also a recognised position within the Ḥanbalī school of jurisprudence. In light of the classical evidence and reasoning discussed above, this is a very strong and well-founded view, in shāʾ Allāh. It should therefore be treated as a legitimate issue of scholarly reasoning and not as a matter in which only one position was known among the scholars. ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ Returning to the Central Principle All of these issues illustrate the importance of approaching acts of worship through knowledge rather than through personal impressions. The lengthy eclipse prayer is established by the Sunnah. Reciting approximately Sūrat al-Baqarah in its first standing is established by the Sunnah. Lengthening the rukūʿ and sujūd is established by the Sunnah. The fear, humility and urgency with which the Prophet ﷺ approached the eclipse are established by the Sunnah. If the prayer finishes before the eclipse clears, remembrance, supplication and seeking forgiveness continue. If an individual genuinely cannot bear the length or has an important need, the Sunnah provides him with the option, when there is a legitimate excuse, of separating from the imam and completing the prayer individually. And concerning the latecomer, the scholars themselves differed concerning which rukūʿ is the essential rukūʿ by which the rakʿah is caught. This is from the fruits of knowledge: العِلْمُ نُوْرٌ “Knowledge is light.” When a person deals with these matters upon knowledge, the texts and statements of the scholars are gathered together and each ruling is placed in its proper position. But when knowledge is absent, a person may begin regarding his own preferred way of approaching an act of worship as moderation while regarding an established Sunnah as excess. Likewise, he may regard a legitimate issue of scholarly disagreement as though only one position could possibly be correct. The criterion is not merely what has become easiest for us or what we have become accustomed to. The criterion is the guidance of the Messenger of Allāh ﷺ, together with a careful understanding of the statements and reasoning of the people of knowledge. والله أعلم وصلى الله وسلم على نبينا محمد وعلى آله وصحبه أجمعين Abū ʿAṭiyah 30 Ṣafar 1448H