Ruling 1409 — Prayer (Ṣalāh)

If a person joins congregational prayers when the imam is in rukūʿ and before he bows down to the extent that is required for rukūʿ the imam raises his head from rukūʿ, he has [three] choices: [one,] to complete the prayer on his own; [two,] to follow the imam and proceed to sajdah with a general intention of attaining proximity to Allah (qaṣd al‑qurbah al‑muṭlaqah) [i.e. with the intention of attaining proximity to Allah without specifying any particulars about the sajdah, such as it being a sajdah of the prayer], and when the imam stands [for the next rakʿah] he says takbīr again with the intention that the takbīr is his takbīrat al‑iḥrām which he has renewed as well as a general dhikr, and he then performs the rest of the prayer in congregation; [three,] to break his prayer in order to join the next rakʿah.