Fatwa ID: 07767

 

 

Answered by: Mawlana Abdurrahman Mohammad

 

 

Question:

 

 

I was reading Fajr and something in me made me think that I was reciting it incorrectly, but I didn’t stop. I carried on praying, but it was only until after I realized that I was saying “Ihidinas Siratul Mustaqeem” instead of “Ihdinas”, so I added an alif in between “Ihdinas”, even though in my mind I thought it might be wrong.

 

 

Is my Salah invalid because I carried on? Does this alif change the meaning? Do I need to repeat my Fajr Salah?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

 

 

Answer:

 

 

The general principle here is that if the mistake changes the meaning, the prayer breaks but If he adds a letter and it does not change the meaning, his prayer is not invalidated according to the majority of the scholars.

 

 

Regarding your situation, Raddul Muhtār mentions:

 

(His saying: “Otherwise, no, etc.”) That is, if it does not change the meaning, then there is no corruption [of the prayer] except in the case of a letter of Madd and Līn. If it is obscene, then it corrupts [the prayer], even if it does not change the meaning.

 

 

If it does not change the word from its stipulated meaning and does not lengthen the letters so that the letter does not become two letters, it does not harm.

 

 

If an alif was added to the word “Ihdina” and read “Ihidina”, this doesn’t change the stipulated meaning as no other word in the Arabic language comes to mind. As long as the letter was not stretched too long that it became two letters, it is safe to assume the prayer was valid.

 

 

Only Allah knows best.

Written by Mawlana Abdurrahman Mohammad

Checked and approved by Mufti Mohammed Tosir Miah

Darul Ifta Birmingham

 

 

References:

 

 

[1] زِيَادَةُ حَرْفٍ إنْ زَادَ حَرْفًا فَإِنْ كَانَ لَا يُغَيِّرُ الْمَعْنَى لَا تَفْسُدُ صَلَاتُهُ عِنْدَ عَامَّةِ الْمَشَايِخِ

(Al-Fatāwā Al-Hindiyya, vol. 1, pg. 79, Al-Maṭba’ah Al-Kubrā Al-Amīriyyah)

 

[2] (قَوْلُهُ بِالْأَلْحَانِ) أَيْ بِالنَّغَمَاتِ، وَحَاصِلُهَا كَمَا فِي الْفَتْحِ إشْبَاعُ الْحَرَكَاتِ لِمُرَاعَاةِ النَّغَمِ (قَوْلُهُ إنْ غَيَّرَ الْمَعْنَى) كَمَا لَوْ قَرَأَ – {الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ} [الفاتحة: ٢]- وَأَشْبَعَ الْحَرَكَاتِ حَتَّى أَتَى بِوَاوٍ بَعْدَ الدَّالِ وَبِيَاءٍ بَعْدَ اللَّامِ وَالْهَاءِ وَبِأَلِفٍ بَعْدَ الرَّاءِ، وَمِثْلُهُ قَوْلُ الْمُبَلِّغِ رَابَّنَا لَك الْحَامِدُ بِأَلْفٍ بَعْدَ الرَّاءِ لِأَنَّ الرَّابَّ هُوَ زَوْجُ الْأُمِّ كَمَا فِي الصِّحَاحِ وَالْقَامُوسِ وَابْنُ الزَّوْجَةِ يُسَمَّى رَبِيبًا.

 

(قَوْلُهُ وَإِلَّا لَا إلَخْ) أَيْ وَإِنْ لَمْ يُغَيِّرْ الْمَعْنَى فَلَا فَسَادَ إلَّا فِي حَرْفِ مَدٍّ وَلِينٍ إنْ فَحُشَ فَإِنَّهُ يُفْسِدُ، وَإِنْ لَمْ يُغَيِّرْ الْمَعْنَى، وَحُرُوفُ الْمَدِّ وَاللِّينِ وَهِيَ حُرُوفُ الْعِلَّةِ الثَّلَاثَةِ الْأَلْفُ وَالْوَاوُ وَالْيَاءُ إذَا كَانَتْ سَاكِنَةً وَقَبْلَهَا حَرَكَةٌ تُجَانِسُهَا، فَلَوْ لَمْ تُجَانِسْهَا فَهِيَ حُرُوفُ عِلَّةٍ وَلِينٍ لَا مَدٍّ. [تَتِمَّةٌ]

 

فُهِمَ مِمَّا ذَكَرَهُ أَنَّ الْقِرَاءَةِ بِالْأَلْحَانِ إذَا لَمْ تُغَيِّرْ الْكَلِمَةَ عَنْ وَضْعِهَا وَلَمْ يَحْصُلْ بِهَا تَطْوِيلُ الْحُرُوفِ حَتَّى لَا يَصِيرُ الْحَرْفُ حَرْفَيْنِ، بَلْ مُجَرَّدُ تَحْسِينِ الصَّوْتِ وَتَزْيِينِ الْقِرَاءَةِ لَا يَضُرُّ، بَلْ يُسْتَحَبُّ عِنْدَنَا فِي الصَّلَاةِ وَخَارِجِهَا كَذَا فِي التَّتَارْخَانِيَّة. مَطْلَبُ مَسَائِلِ زَلَّةِ الْقَارِئِ

(Radd Al-Muhtār, vol. 1, pg. 630, Darul Fikr Beirut)