Omitting ruku‘ and omitting the first sitting

Question

Someone deliberately did not join the imam in ruku‘ and remained occupied with qira‘a (recitation): was his prayer valid or not? And is this issue agreed upon among the four imams or not, in the case of the prayer being invalid? Likewise, if someone deliberately does not sit in the first sitting (qa‘da), what is the ruling?

Answer

Reciting behind the imam is not permitted, so what can it mean that he did not join in ruku‘ because he was occupied with it? If he omitted ruku‘, the prayer became batil (void) because of the omission of a fard.

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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