When Should I Say Ta’awwudh and Basmala in Prayer?
Hanafi Fiqh
Answered by Mawlana Ilyas Patel
Question
In addition to the Ta‘awwudh and Basmala at the beginning of my salah, I usually repeat one of them (depending on whether I am going to the middle or beginning of a different Sura) when I transition from the Fatiha to the additional Sura.
If I’m going from the Fatiha to the middle of another Sura, I repeat the Ta‘awwudh. I repeat the Basmala before moving from the Fatiha to the beginning of a different Sura.
Is this correct, or does the Ta‘awwudh and Basmala at the start of the Salah (as well as the Basmala at the start of each Raka) suffice? Is my prayer still valid even though I did this?
Answer
In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate
I pray you are well.
Amongst the confirmed Sunan are:
- Ta‘awwudh— (reciting ‘a’udhu bil ‘Allahi min al-Shaytani al-rajim) is amongst the Sunan of the prayer, in the first cycle (Raka) only for the sake of recitation of the Quran. The follower does not do so, as it is prohibited for him to recite the Quran. The Imam and the one praying alone (munfarid), however, will read the Ta‘awwudh and Basmala, as they must recite the Quran in prayer.
- Basmala— to read the Basmala before the Fatiha, in every Raka, except for the follower.
In summary,
It is not a confirmed Sunna to recite the Basmala between the Fatiha and a Sura. This is not disliked, however. If one recites the Basmala between the Fatiha and Sura, it is good (Hasan). This is only, however, if one is reciting from the beginning of the Sura. [Ibn ‘Abidin, Radd al-Muhtar]
I pray this helps in your question.
Wassalam,
[Mawlana] Ilyas Patel
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
Mawlana Ilyas Patel is a traditionally-trained scholar who has studied within UK, India, Pakistan, Syria, Jordan, and Turkey. He started his early education in the UK. He went on to complete hifz of Quran in India, then enrolled into an Islamic seminary in UK where he studied the secular and ‘Aalimiyya sciences. He then traveled to Karachi, Pakistan. He has been an Imam in Rep of Ireland for a number of years. He has taught hifz of the Quran, Tajwid, Fiqh and many other Islamic sciences to both children and adults onsite and online extensively in UK and Ireland. He was teaching at a local Islamic seminary for 12 years in the UK where he was a librarian and a teacher of Islamic sciences. He currently resides in UK with his wife. His personal interest is love of books and gardening.
