Will Three Consecutive Movements Break One’s Prayer?

Question

Will three consecutive movements break Salah? I thought it would perfect the Salah.

For example, in movement 1 – In prostration, one hand is a bit higher, and the other is lower (not in a straight line), so I aligned them.

Movements 2 and 3 – According to the Shafi‘i School, I thought the feet should be joined in prostration, so I joined both legs (two legs = two movements).

Therefore, there were three continuous movements. But I thought all of these would perfect the prayer. Is the prayer invalid?

Answer

In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate.

May Allah alleviate our difficulties and guide us to what pleases Him. Amin.

Based on your description, the prayer was valid, and Allah knows best.

When someone needs to fix their positions in prayer to conform with the Sunna, it is recommended that they do so. The ruling concerning three movements refers to consecutive and successive movements. If three or more movements are required (such as moving to form a new row), the succession of movements can be circumvented by taking three measured movements with slight pauses between them, and Allah knows best. [Nawawi, al-Majmu‘]

Extraneous Movements in Prayer

The prayer is invalidated by adding, even if absentmindedly, a motion that is not one of the actions of prayer, provided it is both considered by common acknowledgment to be much and uninterruptedly consecutive, such as three steps or successively moving three separate body parts like the head and two hands, (though an up-and-down motion is considered just one) or three or more consecutive motions.

The prayer is not invalidated by actions that are not much, such as two steps, or is much but separated so that the subsequent motion is considered unconnected with the preceding one. If an action is grossly improper, such as jumping, it invalidates the prayer. [Ibid.]

Position of the Feet in Prayer

According to the Shafi‘i School, it is Sunna that the person praying distances his two feet from each other when in the standing position. In prostration, they should be apart as much as a handspan, whether he is praying alone or in a group, and Allah knows best. [Nawawi, al-Majmu‘]

I pray this is of benefit and that Allah guides us all.
[Shaykh] Irshaad Sedick
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Shaykh Irshaad Sedick was raised in South Africa in a traditional Muslim family. He graduated from Dar al-Ulum al-Arabiyyah al-Islamiyyah in Strand, Western Cape, under the guidance of the late world-renowned scholar Shaykh Taha Karaan.

Shaykh Irshaad received Ijaza from many luminaries of the Islamic world, including Shaykh Taha Karaan, Mawlana Yusuf Karaan, and Mawlana Abdul Hafeez Makki, among others.

He is the author of the text “The Musnad of Ahmad ibn Hanbal: A Hujjah or not?” He has served as the Director of the Discover Islam Centre and Al Jeem Foundation. For the last five years till present, he has served as the Khatib of Masjid Ar-Rashideen, Mowbray, Cape Town.

Shaykh Irshaad has thirteen years of teaching experience at some of the leading Islamic institutes in Cape Town). He is currently building an Islamic online learning and media platform called ‘Isnad Academy’ and has completed his Master’s degree in the study of Islam at the University of Johannesburg. He has a keen interest in healthy living and fitness.