The following are states and positions of the Imaam and his followers in congregational prayer:
The first state: Preceding the Imaam
This means that the follower precedes the Imaam in performing Takbeer (i.e., saying, ‘Allaahu Akbar’) Rukoo‘ (bowing), prostration or ending the prayer and this is impermissible as the Prophet, , warned us against it, saying: “Is not the one who raises his head before the Imaam afraid that Allaah may transform his head into that of a donkey or his figure (face) into that of a donkey?”[Al-Jamaa‘ah]
The Imaam is the leader, so it is impermissible to precede him. The Prophet, , said: “The Imaam should perform Rukoo‘ before you and get up before you.” [Muslim] The Prophet, , also said: “Do not precede me in Rukoo‘, prostration, getting up, sitting or leaving.” [Muslim and Ahmad]
It is agreed upon that preceding the Imaam intentionally invalidates the prayer. Imaam Ahmad quoted Ibn Mas‘ood as saying to the one who preceded his Imaam, “You neither prayed alone nor followed your Imaam.”Ibn ‘Umar narrated that Ibn Mas‘ood said to this man, “You have not prayed alone or with your Imaam.”Then, he struck him and ordered him to repeat his prayer.
If preceding the Imaam was done unintentionally and in performing a Rukoo‘ or prostration before the Imaam, the follower should return and perform Rukoo‘ after his Imaam performs it. If the follower did this intentionally, his prayer would be invalid, but if he forgot to do this or was ignorant regarding this, he would be excused according to the opinion of the majority of scholars who stated that the prayer would be correct as he is excused for his ignorance and forgetfulness, and they obliged him to follow his Imaam. However, Imaam Ahmad said that his prayer is invalid even if this was done out of forgetfulness because of the general indication of the Hadeeths.
The second state: coincidence
This means that the movement of the Imaam and the follower takes place at the same time when they are performing Rukoo‘, prostrating themselves and so forth. This is incorrect as the Imaam should be followed. The Prophet, , said: “The Imaam is to be followed, so when he performs Takbeer, you should perform Takbeer and when he performs Rukoo‘, you should perform Rukoo’ – and do not perform Rukoo‘ before he does…” [Ahmad and Abu Daawood]
If the follower performed Takbeerat Al-Ihraam (the opening, ‘Allaahu Akbar’) at the same time as the Imaam or before the Imaam finishes his Takbeer, his prayer would be invalid regardless of whether this was done intentionally of out of forgetfulness. If the follower did this in any other Takbeer, his prayer would be correct, but with an unfavorable act and an improper following of the Imaam. Muslims should avoid any thing that makes their prayer incomplete or invalidates it.
The third state: following
This is what the follower in prayer should do as it achieves the required following in prayer. This is achieved when the follower does all the movements immediately after the movement of the Imaam as the Prophet, , ordered us to do this by saying: “When the Imaam performs Takbeer, perform Takbeer; when the Imaam performs Rukoo‘, perform Rukoo‘; when the Imaam raises his head and says: ‘Sami‘a Allaahu liman Hamidah’ (Allah hears he who praises him), raise your head and say: ‘Rabbana wa laka Al-Hamd’ (O Allaah, praise be to you). When the Imaam prostrates himself, prostrate yourselves.” [Muslim] This Hadeeth means that the followers should wait for the Imaam until he performs the Takbeer and finishes it, then perform the Takbeer after him. The Imaam should not prolong his Takbeer as the one who is praying after him may hasten and perform the Takbeer before him, thus invalidating his prayer.
Thus, the follower should keep standing until his Imaam performs Rukoo‘ and finishes the Takbeer of Rukoo‘, then he should perform Rukoo‘ and keep in his Rukoo‘ until his Imaam gets up and says, “Sami‘a Allaahu liman Hamidah,” then he should get up and keep standing until the Imaam says the Takbeer and puts his face on the ground, then prostrate himself after his Imaam does. This applies to all the acts of prayer. Al-Baraa’ ibn ‘Aazib said, “When the Prophet would bend to perform prostration, none of us would bend his back until the Prophet would place his forehead on the ground.”[Muslim] This is the true following with which the prayer is perfected.
The fourth state: lagging
This means that the follower lags behind his Imaam. Scholars considered this state just like preceding the Imaam as it also entails negligence in the required immediate following of the Imaam. If the follower lags behind intentionally until the Imaam performs Rukoo‘ and gets up, his prayer would be invalid, but if there is a reason such as drowsiness, forgetfulness or because of the quickness of the Imaam, then he should perform Rukoo‘ after the Imaam and his prayer will be valid. If the person lags behind on purpose until the Imaam performs Rukoo‘, gets up and prostrates himself, then his prayer would be invalid. If this is done out of forgetfulness or ignorance, he should repeat this Rak‘ah during which he did not follow his Imaam.
The follower should be alert and should concentrate on what he says and does so that he would achieve following his Imaam – something which is required for the perfection of the prayer.