Is My Prayer Valid If I Have Doubts About Reciting Surah Al Fatiha?

Answered by Ustadh Tabraze Azam

Question: Assalamu alaikum

While praying, I swallowed my saliva and made a sound. I was thinking about this during my prayer and got distracted. At the end, I had doubts as to whether I recited surah fatiha. Is my prayer invalid? 

Answer: Wa alaikum assalam wa rahmatullah,

No, your prayer would be valid in the case that you were unsure as to whether or not you had recited the Fatiha.

The basis is that doubts are ignored, and we act on whatever our reasonable surety entails. The sunna is in avoiding paying attention to distractions.

Please also see: A reader on waswasa (baseless misgivings)

Consider taking the following free class at Absolute Essentials of Islam: Basic Hanafi Jurisprudence (STEP)

And Allah Most High alone knows best.

wassalam,

Ustadh Tabraze Azam

Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Ustadh Tabraze Azam holds a BSc in Computer Science from the University of Leicester, where he also served as the President of the Islamic Society. He memorised the entire Qur’an in his hometown of Ipswich at the tender age of sixteen, and has since studied the Islamic Sciences in traditional settings in the UK, Jordan and Turkey. He is currently pursuing advanced studies in Jordan, where he is presently based with his family.