Does Licking My Lips Twice Invalidate My Prayer?

Answered by Ustadha Shazia Ahmad

Question

For fasting in the Shafi’i madhhab, licking your lips and then licking again will break your fast. But does doing so in salah invalidate your salah as well? It’s sometimes difficult not to do it, so I was wondering if there’s some leniency.

Answer

Thank you for your question. No, this does not invalidate the prayer.

A Substance Reaching the Body Cavity

The prayer is invalidated when any (even if a little) substance (A: other than saliva) reaches the body cavity intentionally. It also invalidates the prayer if it occurs absentmindedly or in ignorance of its prohibition, provided the amount of the substance is commonly acknowledged to be much, though not if it is little. [Keller, The Reliance of the Traveller]

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.