Is the Salam of the Imam Sufficient for the Follower?

Answered by Shaykh Abdullah Anik Misra

Question

In the Friday prayer, the Imam said his salam, and I followed, but I accidentally forgot to say it, is the salam from the Imam sufficient, or do I have to make up the prayer as Duhr prayer again?

Answer

In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful and Compassionate

Although it is wajib for the follower to say the two salams behind the Imam, if the follower did not do so by accident and then left the prayer after the Imam concluded, the prayer would be valid and would not need to be repeated. [Dihlawi, al-Fatawa al-Tatarkhaniyya]

This is because the Imam and the follower had done the essential integral (fard) of the final sitting. Any violation of the obligatory (wajib) elements of the prayer on the follower’s part alone would be excused by the soundness of the Imam’s prayer. [Shurunbulali, Maraqi al-Falah]

Wassalam,
[Shaykh] Abdullah Anik Misra
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Abdul-Rahim Reasat

Shaykh Abdullah Anik Misra was born in Toronto, Canada, in 1983. His family hails from India, and he was raised in the Hindu tradition. He embraced Islam in 2001 while at the University of Toronto, from where he completed a Bachelor of Business Administration. He then traveled overseas in 2005 to study the Arabic language and Islamic sciences in Tarim, Yemen, for some time, as well as Darul Uloom in Trinidad, West Indies. He spent 12 years in Amman, Jordan, where he focused on Islamic Law, Theology, Hadith Sciences, Prophetic Biography, and Islamic Spirituality while also working at the Qasid Arabic Institute as Director of Programs. He holds a BA in Islamic Studies (Alimiyya, Darul Uloom) and authorization in the six authentic books of Hadith and is currently pursuing specialized training in issuing Islamic legal verdicts (ifta’). He holds a certificate in Counselling and often works with new Muslims and those struggling with religious OCD. He is an instructor and researcher in Sacred Law and Theology with the SeekersGuidance The Global Islamic Seminary. Currently, He resides in the Greater Toronto Area with his wife and children. His personal interests include Indian history, comparative religion, English singing, and poetry.