Saying the opening takbir and going straight into ruku' — the rak'a is caught

Question

A person arrived while the imam was in ruku'. This person raised his hands to his ears, said the takbir al-tahrima (opening takbir) and immediately went into ruku', without folding his hands on the navel. Is his prayer valid or not? Outwardly it seems that the qiyam, which is fard, was not performed. Also: if in the first or any other rak'a the second sajda was omitted through forgetfulness, will the prayer not be valid at all, or will it become valid by performing sajda al-sahw?

Answer

If he said the takbir al-tahrima while standing and then went into ruku', his joining [the prayer] is counted, even if he did not fold his hands: the qiyam has taken place, and it does not depend on folding the hands.

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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