Question:
Assalamualaikum wrm.wbt.,
An imam forgot to recite al-Fatihah in the second rakaat and just recite the surah. Even after the makmum signaled his mistakes numerous times, he just continues with his rukuk in his prayer. Is the prayer performed valid?
Answer:
Waalaikumussalam wrm. wbt.
Alhamdulillah, praise and thanks to Allah for the countless blessings He has blessed us all with. Blessings and salutations to the Prophet Muhammad PBUH, his wives, his family, companions and all those that follow his teachings to the day of judgement.
The worship of prayer has its own requisites. It is divided to the fi’li requisite which is related to actions, and qauli requisite which involves the utterances (recitations in prayer), qalbi and maknawi requisite. All of these requisites is wajib to be fulfilled for the prayer to be considered as valid.
Reciting al-Fatihah is one of the qauli requisites. The prayer is invalid if a person does not recite al-Fatihah. This is in accordance with the statement of the Prophet PBUH narrated by Ubadah bin Somit:
لاَ صَلاَةَ لِمَنْ لَمْ يَقْرَأْ فِيهَا بِفَاتِحَةِ الْكِتَابِ
“There is no prayer for the one who does not recite Fatihatil-Kitab in it.”
Sunan Ibnu majah (929)
Imam al-Nawawi commented on the hadith saying:
“reciting al-fatihah for those who are able to recite it is an obligation and requisite of which it is not translated into other than Arabic and cannot be replaced with other recitation of the Quran. It is wajib to be recited in all prayers whether it is the obligatory or sunnah prayers.”
Refer al-Majmuk Syarh al-Muhazzab (3/283)
If a person forgets to recite al-Fatihah, the obligation is abrogated for him. This opinion is agreed and has been concluded by majority of scholars of madhhab Syafie. This is stated by Imam al-Nawawi in al-Majmuk.
Refer al-Majmuk Syarh al-Muhazzab (3/288)
There are three possible situations if a person forgets to recite al-Fatihah in his prayer:
- If he forgets to recite al-Fatihah and remembered that he hasn’t recited it when he was performing his rukuk (bow), then he should stand back up and recite it.
- If he remembered it when he was standing up for the next rakaat, then the recitation of al-Fatihah at the time is replaced for the rakaat of which he forgot to recite the it. Before salam, he has to stand back up and add another rakaat together with the sahwi prostration.
- If he remembered it in a short period of time after giving salam, then he should stand back up and add another rakaat to replace the rakaat of which he had forgotten to recite the Fatihah followed by sahwi prostration. If a long duration of time has passed, then in this situation he has to pray again.
Refer al-Majmuk Syarh al-Muhazzab (2/288)
For an imam who forgets to recite al-Fatihah, his prayer is not invalidated and he has to add another rakaat before giving the salam. The reason is the rakaat of which he had forgotten to recite al-Fatihah is worthless. Hence, before the salam, he has to stand back up and add a replacement rakaat for the rakaat that he had forgotten to recite the Fatihah. However, if he did not add another rakaat after salam and a long period of time has passed, then his prayer is invalid and he has to repeat it.
As for the makmum, they have two choices if the imam forgot to recite al-Fatihah:
- Continue to follow the imam with the hope and assumption that the imam will replace the rakaat of which he forgot to recite the Fatihah. If the imam does not replace it in the last rakaat before salam, then the makmum can set the intention to mufaraqah and replace the rakaat himself.
- Makmum can immediately set the intention to mufaraqah and continue the prayer alone.
It is best to follow the imam. This is so that it would not cause any confusion or disputes. If the imam did not replace the rakaat before the salam, then it is permissible for the makmum to set the intention to mufaraqah.
Wallahu a’lam.