Answered by Sidi Moustafa Elqabbany
Since in the shafi’i madhhab it is obligatory to recite al-fatihah in prayer, what is the ruling when following an Imam who prays extemely quickly. Should one follow him when he makes rukoo or should one finish the surah? What then happens if he raises back from rukoo’ before the follower has finished al-fatihah?
Preliminaries
Let’s say that an average person takes n seconds to recite the fatiha properly. The definition of a masbuq(one who lags behind) in the Shafi’i school is one who stands behind the imam for fewer than n seconds. Reliance of the Traveller translates masbuq as “latecomer”. However, one is a masbuq in every rak’ah in which one stands for fewer than n seconds behind the imam. So if Zayd starts a prayer with an imam who goes into ruku’ after more than n seconds in the first and third rak’ahs but in fewer than n seconds in the second and fourth rak’ahs, then Zayd is a masbuq for the second and fourth rak’ahs (only). A latecomer who stands for fewer than n seconds behind the imam during his first rak’ah is also considered a masbuqfor that rak’ah.
Answer
If the imam is reciting so quickly that an average person would not be able to complete the fatiha behind him, then you would be considered a masbuq in every rak’ah. In summary, what you do in this case is recite as much of the fatiha as you can, beginning with bismillah-ir-rahman-ir-raheem.In other words, don’t recite anything before the fatiha. If you are amasbuq and you are a slow reciter, you still only have to read as much of the fatiha as you can; you aren’t required to recite as much as an average person.
More details regarding this can be found at the link below; just replace ‘latecomer’ with masbuq.
The Latecomer and the Fatiha
References
Al-Jurdani, Muhammad ibn Abdullah. Fath al-Allam bisharh Murshid Al-Anam. 4 vols. 1408/1988. Reprint. Cairo: Dar as-Salam.
Definition of masbuqin Nihaya al-Muhtaj, by Imam Ramli:
Definition of masbuqin Tuhfa al-Muhtaj, by Imam Ibn Hajar:
Allah the Exalted knows best and He alone gives success.
Moustafa Elqabbany
Metro Vancouver, Canada