An Issue Concerning Following the Imam

Question

If [the muqtadi] begins both salams, or the salam of sajda al-sahw, together with the imam or after him but finishes before [him], the prayer will be valid. In al-Durr al-Mukhtar it says: [ar]وتنقضي قدوة بالأول قبل عليكم[/ar] “The following ends with the first [salam], before [the word] ‘alaykum’” (al-Durr al-Mukhtar on the margin of Radd al-Muhtar, vol. 1, p. 436; according to Fatawa Dar al-Ulum Deoband, 144).

Answer

The gist of the text of al-Durr al-Mukhtar quoted in this fatwa is the same as what I (the humble one) wrote. By “the first” (al-awwal) is meant the first salam, which is [given] to the right; by “before ‘alaykum’” (qabl ‘alaykum) is meant the “mim” of “al-salamu ‘alaykum”.

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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