Is It Permitted to Get Up Slowly from Prostration in Order to Clear Doubts?

Answered by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Question

If in prayer I go up slowly from prostration so I have enough time to know if I have to sit or stand up, is my prayer valid? Is that allowed?

Answer

In the Name of Allah, the Merciful and Compassionate

May Allah bless you for your concern and for striving for caution.

Yes, it is permitted to rise slowly from prostration, which doesn’t affect the soundness of prayer.

However, the sunna is to be decisive and not hesitate. The principle is that “If certainty isn’t possible, exercise reasoned judgment.” [Hamawi/Ibn Nujaym, Hashiyat al-Ashbah wa’l Nadha’ir]

This is part of embracing Divinely-granted ease. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “Make things easy. Do not make them hard.” [Bukhari; others]

This applies to oneself and others.

The danger in over-concern with caution (especially when uncalled-for) is that it can become misgivings (waswasa)–which is blameworthy, contrary to the Prophet’s sunna (peace and blessings be upon him) and from making religion unduly tricky.

Kindly check these links:
What Should I Do about My Severe Doubts during Prayer?
Doubts on the Validity of Prayer
Doubts In Prayer & Making Up Such Prayers
How Can I Deal With Doubts About the Sincerity of My Prayers?
A Reader on OCD and Waswasa (Baseless Misgivings)

Finally, I would encourage you to take Level One courses on the fiqh of worship for clarity and confidence in your religious practice. That is the foundation of praiseworthy caution.

The Fiqh of Worship: Rules of Purification and Prayer

Remember, “the way of caution is acting upon knowledge, in accordance with the sunna, without excessiveness.” [Zarruq]

And Allah is the giver of success and facilitation.

[Shaykh] Faraz Rabbani

Shaykh Faraz Rabbani spent ten years studying with some of the leading scholars of recent times, first in Damascus, and then in Amman, Jordan. His teachers include the foremost theologian of recent times in Damascus, the late Shaykh Adib al-Kallas (may Allah have mercy on him), as well as his student Shaykh Hassan al-Hindi, one of the leading Hanafi fuqaha of the present age. He returned to Canada in 2007, where he founded SeekersGuidance in order to meet the urgent need to spread Islamic knowledge–both online and on the ground–in a reliable, relevant, inspiring, and accessible manner. He is the author of: Absolute Essentials of Islam: Faith, Prayer, and the Path of Salvation According to the Hanafi School (White Thread Press, 2004.) Since 2011, Shaykh Faraz has been named one of the 500 most influential Muslims by the Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Center.