Joining the Congregation While Imam Is in Ruku‘
Issue No. 1251- If a person, while the imam is in rukū‘, joins the congregational prayer and reaches the rukū‘ of the imam, his prayer will be in order, whether the imam has already uttered the dhikr of rukū‘ or not and it will be counted as his first rak‘at. However, if he [bends completely but] does not reach the imam in his rukū‘, he should continue the prayer with the intention of individual prayer and as an obligatory precaution, he should repeat the prayer. The same ruling applies if one doubts whether or not he has reached the imam’s rukū‘.
