Would Scratching or Stretching My Hand Invalidate My Prayer?

Answered by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Question: Assalam alaykum

Would scratching or stretching my hand invalidate my prayer?

Would pulling up my trousers using two hands invalidate my prayer?

Answer: Wa alaykum assalam,

I hope you’re doing well, insha’Allah.

In the Hanafi school, excessive movement invalidates prayer. Excessive movement is defined as movement that an onlooker would clearly consider the person not to be praying. [Ala’ al-Din Abidin, al-Hadiyya al-Ala’iyya; Shurunbulali, Maraqi al-Falah]

Slight, unnecessary movement is somewhat disliked, but doesn’t invalidate the prayer.

Wassalam,
[Shaykh] Faraz Rabbani

Shaykh Faraz Rabbani is a scholar and researcher of Islamic law and translator of several Arabic works to the English language. After ten years overseas, Shaykh Faraz returned to Canada in the Summer of 2007. In May 2008 he founded SeekersGuidance to deal with the urgent need to spread Islamic knowledge—both online and on the ground—in a reliable, relevant, inspiring, and accessible manner.