Joining salah after hearing the imam recite a sajdah ayah

A person has not joined the jama’ah of salah yet but he hears the imam recite an ayah requiring prostration.  He then joins the imam after the imam completes the prostration. When should the person perform the prostration of recitation (sajdat at-tilawah)?

 بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

الجواب حامدا ومصليا ومسلما

In principle, if a person joins the imam before he rises from ruku’, it is as if they were with the imam from the beginning. Consequently, in the aforementioned scenario, if one joined the imam before he rises from ruku’, they would be absolved from performing sajdah tilaawa at a later time. However, if one joins the imam afterwards, they must perform sajdah tilaawa on their own after the completion of the salah.

والله اعلم

Allah Knows best.

Approved by: Mufti Husain Ahmad Madani