Can He pray Tarawih with Them, with the Intention of Isha?

Question:

A man came to the mosque and found the people praying Tarawih and he was aware of this. May he pray with them, with the intention of Isha, or should he pray alone?

Answer:

There is no sin in praying with them, with the intention of Isha, according to the most authoritative of two opinions held by the scholars. When the Imam makes the Taslim, he should stand up and complete his prayer, as it has been reported in the Two Sahihs from Muath bin Jabal, may Allaah be pleased with him, that he used to perform the Isha prayer with the Prophet (sallallaahu alaihi wa sallam), then he would return to his people and lead them in that same prayer, and the Prophet (sallallaahu alaihi wa sallam) did not criticise it. This proves the permissibility of performing an obligatory prayer behind one who is performing a non-obligatory prayer. And it is also authentically reported from the Prophet (sallallaahu alaihi wa sallam) that in some of the fear prayers, he led a group in a two Rakah prayer, then he prayed two Rakahs with another group. This means that the first two Rakahs were the obligatory prayer for him, while the second two were supererogatory, while they were obligatory for those behind him. And Allaah is the Granter of Success.

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