Question Summary:
My Imām performs Salāh with haste. What should I do?

Question Detail:

 
I perform all my salat at the mosque and sometimes our Imam takes less than 10 seconds to read Surah fatehah in the 3 rd and 4th Rakaat. Is this normal ?
Very often as well i do not have enoughtime to recite Durud Ibrahim in the last Rakkah let alone any duahs.
Last Friday for Jummah Salat ,  I did not even have time to finish Attayaat. I am not slow but imagine only 1o seconds only after the second Sajdah and Salaam..
Please advise.

Answer :

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
As-salāmu ‘alaykum wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuh.
There are two possibilities regarding your query:

If you do feel that the Imām Saheb is performing Salāh very fast, then try to address the issue in a diplomatic manner keeping in mind the dignity of the Imām. Consider requesting him to check your Salāh to see if you are reciting correctly. Thereafter you may address your difficulty in not being able to keep up with the Imām Saheb’s recitation. It is possible the Imām Saheb may realize his mistake and adjust accordingly.
If this is not possible, then request a well-respected and senior member of the community to present your concern to the Imām Saheb.
Nevertheless, in the enquired case, it is Sunnah to recite Surah Fātihah in the 3^rd and 4^th Rak’āt of the Fardh Salāh. However, if one does not recite Surah Fātihah and merely stands the duration of three Tasbeehs, the Salāh is valid. Hence, there is no need to repeat the Salāh even if your Imām Saheb stood less than 10 seconds in the 3^rd and 4^th Rak’āt.[1]
In the last sitting of Salāh, it is necessary to sit at least for the duration of reciting the complete al-Tahiyyāt (swiftly with proper pronunciation). If one sits for this duration, the Salāh is valid.[2] Hence, when your Imām Saheb completed the last sitting prior to your finishing Durūd Sharīf, the Salāh was valid. Even in the case you were unable to recite al-Tahiyyāt before the completion of your Imām’s Salāh, it is possible that your Imām Saheb had recited it in a swift manner with due pronunciation. Hence, in any case, you do not have to repeat any of your Salāts.  
And Allah Ta’āla Knows Best
Abdul Azīm bin Abdur Rahman,
Student Darul Iftaa
U.S.A.
Checked and Approved by,
Mufti Ebrahim Desai.