Praise be to Allaah.
Firstly:
If the imam
was sure that he was right, and he did not pay any attention to the alert
from the people praying behind him, and he completed his prayer and had
prayed five rak’ahs, then his prayer is valid and he does not have to do
anything else. Then if he finds out after the salaam what had happened, he
should prostrate twice (the prostration of forgetfulness) then say the
salaam.
Secondly:
If the
person who is praying behind an imam realizes that his imam has stood up for
an extra rak’ah, he has to alert him to that. If he does not respond, it is
not permissible for him to follow him, rather he should stop doing so and
sit and recite the final tashahhud and say the salaam. If he follows him
knowing that this is the fifth rak’ah, then his prayer is invalid. But if he
follows him not knowing about that or forgetting, then his prayer is valid.
It says in
Sharh Muntaha al-Iraadaat (1/223): If a person makes a mistake but is
alerted by two trustworthy persons, then he must stop, unless he is certain
that he is right, in which case it is not permissible for him to stop.
Then he said
that if he stands up for a fifth rak’ah, it is not permissible for the
person praying behind him to follow him because he believes that he is wrong
and what the imam stood up for is not part of his prayer. But if he follows
him out of ignorance or because he forgot, or he stops following him, then
his prayer is valid. The one who knows what is happening must stop following
him, and the one who has stopped following his imam should say the salaam
after he stands up for the extra rak’ah and then alert him when he has
completed the final tashahhud. End quote.
Shaykh Ibn
‘Uthaymeen (may Allaah have mercy on him) was asked: If the imam prays five
rak’ahs by mistake, what is the ruling on his prayer and the prayer of those
behind him? Should the one who joined the prayer late count this additional
rak’ah (as part of his own prayer)?
He replied:
If the imam prays five rak’ahs by mistake, then his prayer is valid, and the
prayer of those who follow him by mistake or out of ignorance is valid too.
But if a
person knows that it is an extra rak’ah, when the imam stands up for the
extra rak’ah he should sit and say the salaam, because in this case he
believes that his imam’s prayer has become invalid, unless he is afraid that
his imam has stood up for an extra rak’ah because he failed to recite
al-Faatihah (for example) in one of the rak’ahs. In that case he should wait
and not say the salaam (i.e., he should wait to say the salaam with the
imam).
With regard
to the one who joined the prayer late and joined the imam in the second
rak’ah or later, then this extra rak’ah counts for him. If he joined the
imam in the second rak’ah, for example, he should say the salaam with the
imam when he does an extra rak’ah. If he joined in the third rak’ah, he
should do another rak’ah after the imam says the salaam following the extra
rak’ah. That is because if we say that the one who joined the prayer late
should not count the extra rak’ah, then he would have to add another rak’ah
deliberately, and that would make his prayer invalid. As for the imam, he is
excused for the extra rak’ah, because he forgot, so his prayer is not
invalid. End quote from Majmoo’ Fataawaa l-Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen
(14/19).