What should the Muslim do if he wants to join congregational prayer while the imam is bowing (kneeling down for performing Ruku)? A- In this case, he must say takbir (saying Allah is greatest), as his first takbirah which is known as takbiratul ihram (starting takbirah) while standing, then say takbir again and bow. If he catches the bowing with the imam while the latter is already in a state of bowing and manages to say even one tasbihah (praise be to God), then he will have caught the whole rak'ah, otherwise he will have missed the rak'ah. A common mistake which many people commit in this context is that they say takbiratul ihram while bowing to make sure that they will catch the rak'ah with the imam, and even some of them say takbir only once for both takbiratul ihram and bowing. This invalidates prayer because it violates one of the pillars of prayer, namely standing for takbiratul ihram is to be said in the standing position. And Allah knows best. Q- What is the Shariah ruling concerning making movement in prayer? A- Scholars of Islamic jurisprudence maintain that moving in prayer is considered to be legally “noticeable,”if it makes people think that the person who does such movement is not in prayer. Some scholars have estimated this “noticeable moving” to be three frequent movements. However, there is no harm with such movements as gesturing, scrubbing one's skin, or making one or two steps forward for straightening rows. By the same token, looking around in prayer does not invalidate it, yet turning around in such a manner that one's chest becomes away from the Qiblah does. And Allah knows best. – Extracted from 500 Questions and Answers on Islamic Jurisprudence, compiled and translated by Muhammad Abdul
