Answered by Ustadh Tabraze Azam
Question: [1] When you are praying behind an imam and he makes a mistake such as praying five raqas for dhuhr, and one says something like subhan Allah but the imam keeps on with the mistake, should one follow him or pray correctly. [2] My other question is should one make sajdit assahu if the imam makes this sajda? Or only if you make a mistake?
Answer: Wa alaikum assalam wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh,
I hope you are in the best of health and spirits, insha’Allah.
[1] If the imam stands up for the fifth cycle (rak`at) of the noon (dhuhr) prayer, the followers should remain seated and correct him by saying the tasbih (subhanAllah).
If the imam prostrates for the fifth cycle (rak`at), there are two cases:
[a] If he sat for the extent of the tashahud in the final sitting (qa`dah), you would say the salams and finish your prayer,
[b] If he did not sit for the extent of the tashahud in the final sitting (qa`dah) or did not do the final sitting altogether, the prayer of the imam and the followers would be invalidated. Thus, they would all need to repeat their prayer.
[2] If the imam performs the prostration of forgetfulness (sahw), the follower does so too as he is following the imam. However, if the follower makes a mistake requiring the prostration of forgetfulness (sahw), he does not prostrate.
[Haskafi, al-Durr al-Mukhtar; Ibn `Abidin, Radd al-Muhtar; Shurunbulali, Imdad al-Fattah]
And Allah alone gives success.
Wassalam,
Tabraze Azam
Checked & Approved by Tabraze Azam