Question Summary:
What is correct procedure when joining salat late.

Question Detail:

Please let me know the correct procedure for offering a Fard Salat if we join the jamaat after Sura Fathiha. Some people think they have completed 1 rakat if they join the salaat before ruku & some think that if they miss out sura Fatiha then they missed out 1 raka. I am from India & working in Oman, I do not know which Imam to follow i only know that iam a sunni muslim from india.

 

Answer :

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
As-salāmu `alaykum wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuh.
If a person joins the Iman while the Imam is still in ruku he have attained that rakat. [1] 
One who comes late and misses only Surah Faatiha he has not missed the rakat. 
Since you are from India, it is quite possible that you are a follower of the Hanafi Mazhab (school of thought). Although you are in Oman, you should still follow the Hanafih Madhab.
And Allah knows best. 
Mawlana Saeed Ahmed Golaub
Westmoreland, Jamaica, West Indies
Student Darul Iftaa
Checked and Approved 
Mufti Ebrahim Desai
daruliftaa.net