Have I Invalidated My Prayer by Merely Intending to Break It?

Answered by Ustadh Sufyan Qufi

Question

I follow the view that intention alone is enough to invalidate prayer. While praying, I realized that my nudity was uncovered and was unsure if I should restart my prayer. Then I figured I could continue. I’m not sure if I fully intended to restart my prayer or if it was just a mere thought. Is my prayer invalid?

Answer

In the name of Allah, Most Compassionate, Most Merciful,

According to the Hanafi school, your prayer remains valid even if your intention to end it was firm. Thus, your intention was of no consequence. [Hibatu Allah al-Tajih, Tahqiq al-Bahir Sharh al-Ashbah was al-Naza’ir]

The reason for the ruling above is that intention alone is not an invalidator of the prayer. Thus, as long as you have not performed any invalidator of the prayer, you are still in the prayer you have started, even if this is not your intention anymore.  [Ibid.]

Choosing Difficulty

You should not follow the opinion deeming the invalidity of the prayer possible through intention alone, especially when this opinion is leading you to misgivings (waswas).

Allah, Most High, says: “Ta Ha. We did not send down the Qur’an to you to make you miserable.” [Quran, 20:1]

Allah, Most High, says: “Allah desires ease for you; He does not desire difficulty for you.” [Quran, 2:185]

The Messenger of Allah (blessing and peace be upon him) has said, “Those who make things hard for themselves will be destroyed.” [Muslim]

And Allah knows best.
Wassalam
[Ustadh] Sufyan Qufi
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Ustadh Sufyan Qufi is an advanced seeker of knowledge, originally from Algeria, who grew up in France. He began searching far and wide for answers to the fundamental questions of life and was disappointed at the answers he found. Then he connected with various traditional teachers and gradually connected with SeekersGuidance. He embarked on his journey of learning through the various teachers at SeekersGuidance, including his mentor Shaykh Faraz Rabbani. He studied numerous texts in Islamic Law, Theology, Hadith, and other areas with Shaykh Faraz Rabbani and other teachers, including Shaykh Abdurrahman al-Sha‘ar, Shaykh Ali Hani, and others. He is an active instructor at SeekersGuidance and answers questions through the SeekersGuidance Answers Service.