Do I Need to Make Up My Prayers If Some Parts Are Recited in Other Than Arabic?

Answered by Ustadha Shazia Ahmad

Question

What are the sunnah prayers of Juma according to the Shafi’i madhhab? And can I also ask if I have to make up the prayers I used to pray with following the Salafi position? I used to say duas in English during the salah without knowing that it made salah invalid. Any link on how to pray as a Shafi’i would also be much appreciated.

Answer

May Allah reward you for what your prayers and for your sincere intention.

English

Supplicating in English during your prayer does render the prayer invalid in the Shafi’i school. However, please write back to us with details on what you said, at what point in the prayer, and the reason for saying it in English. Your prayers might be valid in another school. If we find that they were not valid in any school, they would need to be made up.

Please see these links as well:
Why Can’t I Supplicate in English During My Prayer? (Shafi’i)
Can I Pray in English and Arabic During the Prayer?
How to Make up Years of Missed Prayers? (Shafi’i)

Friday Sunna Prayers

Please see these links for the sunna prayers associated with the Friday prayer:
Sunnah Prayers before and After Jumuah
Order of Sunnah Prayers in Shafi’i School
Why Is It Sinful To Pray During the Friday Sermon (Khutba)?
Greeting the Mosque During the Friday Khutba

Prayer

To learn your prayer in the Shafi’i school, you must take a course on the basics of worship. A simple course covers beliefs, purification, prayer, and fasting and will answer all of your questions in sha Allah. This is the only way to get the complete picture and avoid mistakes in the future. Although useful, browsing through the question and answer won’t be enough.

Please see our free course here:
Getting Started with Your Belief and Practice: Habshi’s Encompassing Epistle Explained (Shafi’i)

May Allah give you the best of this world and the next.

[Ustadha] Shazia Ahmad
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Ustadha Shazia Ahmad lived in Damascus, Syria for two years where she studied aqida, fiqh, tajweed, tafsir, and Arabic. She then attended the University of Texas at Austin, where she completed her Masters in Arabic. Afterward, she moved to Amman, Jordan where she studied fiqh, Arabic, and other sciences. She later moved back to Mississauga, Canada, where she lives with her family.