Is My Salat Valid if I Moved Quickly Due to Nervousness?

Answered by Ustadh Sufyan Qufi

Question

I was wondering about moving fast in prayer. During Salat, I was nervous and moved quickly. When getting up from sujud, I went to the sitting position quickly, without my body being still. Is my salat valid despite this mistake?

Answer

I pray this finds you in the best of states.

Yes, your prayer remains valid despite the quickness of your movements. [Shurunbulali, Nur al-Idah]

Nonetheless, it is necessary (wajib) to remain motionless for at least the duration of saying one time “Subhan Allah” at each stage of the prayer (bowing, prostration, sitting between the two prostrations). [Ibn ‘Abidin, Radd al-Muhtar]

This is because the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) ordered someone who failed to remain motionless at these stages of the prayer to repeat it. [Bukhari]

The fatwa position is that if one performed a prayer with something prohibitively disliked (makruh tahriman), such as missing a necessary (wajib) of the prayer, it is

(1) necessary (wajib) to repeat within the time; and

(2) not necessary to repeat after the time—but, instead, it is recommended to repeat.

[Haskafi, al-Durr al-Mukhtar; Tahtawi/Shurunbulali, Hashiyat ‘ala Maraqi al-Falah]

And Allah knows best.

[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.