Fatwa ID: 04267
Answered by: Maulana Naieem Mohammad
Question
Assalamu Alaikum.
If a Musalli (Person in Salah) utters an actual word by mistake (e.g. yeah), is their prayer broken?
بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمنِ الرَّحِيْم
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
Answer:
Salaat is our key to paradise and when a Muslim has engaged in Salaat he is at that moment conversing with Allah. Carelessness is the opposite of the remembrance of Allah, and Salaat has been given to us so that we may establish his remembrance.[1]
The scholars of Fiqh have mentioned that if a person utters an extra word whilst in Salaat, e.g. he says “Subhaan Allah”, then this can be considered either :
- Intentionally, by responding to someone who informs him of something surprising, such an utterance breaks the Salaat.[2]
- Not responding to someone, then it is considered as the zikr of Allah and does not break the Salaat, even though it may have been due to a mistake, etc.[3]
Considering that the word “yes”, is usually a reply to a question, and a person may have forgotten that he/she is in Salaat and replied to someone outside Salaat even mistakenly and such a word is not from the words of the Quran or the Zikr of Allah, then we can conclude that the Salaat is actually broken because such a word is from the “Kalaam un Naas” (speech of people) and its meaning is clearly understood.[4]
May Allah bless us all with concentration and devotion in Salaat. Ameen.
Only Allah knows best
Written by Maulana Naieem Mohammad
Checked and approved by Mufti Mohammed Tosir Miah
Darul Ifta Birmingham
