Answered by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
If I join the prayer while the congregation is sitting and reciting Tashahud, would I also recite Tashahuh althoguh I have just started my prayer or would I simply sit and not recite anyhitng?
Walaikum assalam wa rahmatullah,
I pray that this finds you well, and in the best of health and spirits. May Allah grant you all good and success in this life and the next.
If you join the congregation late, and find the imam sitting for the tashahhud, you should sit with him and recite the tashahhud in full. (In fact, even if the imam then gets up, one should complete the tashahhud.) [ Ibn Abidin, Radd al-Muhtar ]
Please search SunniPath Answers (http://qa.sunnipath.com) for related answers–search for “latecomer.”
And Allah alone gives success. Faraz Rabbani