Should I Shorten My Prayers Because of the Chronic Mucus in My Throat?

Answered by Ustadha Shazia Ahmad

Question

I am aware that clearing the throat during Salah invalidates the prayer due to the sound it creates. I have a medical condition where mucus builds up in my throat unnaturally during any form of speaking, including the recitation of the Quran, which irritates my throat, and I am typically unable to continue my recitation without clearing my throat.

Would clearing my throat out of this necessity be acceptable during my Salah, or would it be better to shorten my prayers to avoid clearing my throat?

Answer

May Allah reward you for being concerned about your worship, and may He facilitate this matter for you.

Clearing the Throat

It says in the Reliance of the Traveller:

f9.1 The prayer is invalidated (if one has no excuse (def: below» by uttering two or more letters, or when two or more letters worth of sounds such as laughter, crying, groaning, clearing the throat, blowing, sighing, or similar are audible. It is also invalidated by much (0: i.e. more than six words worth of) sound, even when there is a valid excuse such as. blurting out· words unthinkingly, laughter or coughing overcoming one, absentmindedly speaking, or when one speaks because as a new Muslim one does not know it is unlawful during the prayer; though with such an excuse a slight amount of speech does not invalidate the prayer.

Illness

I asked my teacher your question, and he said, “According to my reading of ‘Umdat al-Salik and the Sharh, Fath al-Wahhab al-Malik, the non-obligatory recitation would not be a valid reason to make more than two letters worth of audible sound. It would be permitted for obligatory recitation (e.g. Fatiha).”

As such, after the Fatiha, you should shorten your recitation of a Quranic sura or not recite any Quran at all. You may recite as much Quran as you would like outside the prayer.

Please see these links as well:
Prophetic Supplications to Cure Illnesses
Was My Prayer Invalidated by My Cough?

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.