What is the ruling on the prayer of the Imam and the congregants if the Imam bowed instead of prostrating at the verse of prostration during the Fajr prayer on Friday, then prostrated after being alerted by the congregants?
The prayer of an Imam who moves to the prostration of recitation (sujud at-tilawah) after beginning the bowing (ruku') pillar is invalidated if he is aware of the ruling, because he abandoned a pillar for a Sunnah act, which is not permissible according to the preponderant opinion of the majority of scholars. As for the Hanafis, they consider it permissible, based on a text that has not been authenticated. The prayer of the congregants (ma'mumeen) who follow him, while being aware of the ruling, is invalidated. However, for one who is ignorant of the ruling, their prayer is not invalidated.
Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026
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