Regarding the ruling on reciting the Fatiha in prayer, I would say:
The ruling on reciting the Fatiha in prayer varies depending on the circumstances of the worshipper:
Firstly, if the worshipper is praying alone:
The scholars have differing opinions regarding the ruling of reciting the Fatiha for the individual worshipper, and there are two main views:
The first view, held by the Hanafi school, is that reciting the Fatiha in prayer is obligatory but not a pillar (Rukn), and the prayer is valid without reciting it. If someone forgets to recite the Fatiha, they should rectify their prayer through prostration of forgetfulness (Sujood as-Sahw) without the need to repeat the entire unit (Rak’ah). The Hanafi scholars base their argument on the following evidence:
1-They argue that the verse “So recite what is easy [for you] of it,” (Al-Muzzammil, 73:20), is a command to recite, and recitation is only obligatory in prayer. Since recitation is obligatory in prayer, the command to recite is general and not limited to a specific surah, meaning it includes Al-Fatiha and other surahs. However, the Sunnah (Prophetic tradition) emphasizes the recitation of Al-Fatiha, so the evidence was reduced by a degree. Consequently, they hold that Al-Fatiha is obligatory in prayer but not a pillar (Rukn), similar to the case of Witr prayer.
2- The famous hadith about the one who performs their prayer in a bad way, narrated by Abu Huraira and Rafaa bin Rafi.
As for the hadith narrated by Abu Huraira, it is recorded in Sahih al-Bukhari, Sahih Muslim, Abu ‘Awanah, Abu Dawood, An-Nasai, At-Tirmidhi, Ibn Majah, Ahmad, At-Tahawi in his “Sharh al-Ma’ani”, Al-Bayhaqi, and Al-Baghawi. The hadith goes as follows: Narrated by Abu Huraira (may Allah be pleased with him): A man entered the mosque while the Prophet (peace be upon him) was sitting at the vicinity of the mosque”, and he prayed. Then he came and greeted the Prophet (peace be upon him), who said to him, “And upon you be peace; go back and pray, for you have not prayed.” Then he returned and prayed again, and afterward came to greet the Prophet (peace be upon him) who said, “And upon you be peace; go back and pray, for you have not prayed.” The man asked for instruction, saying, “Teach me, O Messenger of Allah.” The Prophet (peace be upon him) replied, “When you stand for prayer, perform ablution properly, then face the Qibla and say ‘Allahu Akbar.’ Then, recite whatever is easy for you from the Quran. Then, bow until you are at ease in the bowing position. Then, stand up straight until you are at ease in the standing position. Afterward, prostrate until you are at ease in the prostration. Then, sit up until you are at ease in the sitting position. After that, prostrate again until you are at ease in the prostration. Finally, sit up again until you are at ease in the sitting position. Then do this in all of your prayers.”
As for the hadith of Rafaa bin Rafi, it is narrated by An-Nasa’i, Ibn Majah, Ad-Darami, Al-Bazzar, Al-Hakim, and Al-Bayhaqi through their chains from Rafaa bin Rafi. He said: “While the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) was sitting and we were around him, a man entered and faced the Qibla to pray. After he completed his prayer, he greeted the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) and those present. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said to him, ‘And upon you be peace; go back and pray, for you have not prayed.’ The man went back and prayed again. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) continued to observe his prayer, and he did not know what fault there was in it. When he had completed his prayer, he approached and greeted the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) and the people. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said to him, “Go and pray, for you have not prayed.” So he repeated it two or three times. The man said, “O Messenger of Allah, what are the faults you have seen in my prayer?” The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said, “It is not enough for any one of you to offer a prayer and not complete his ablution as Allah has commanded, washing his face, arms up to the elbows, and wiping his head and feet up to the ankles, and then saying ‘Allah is the Greatest,’ and praising and glorifying Allah. Hammam said, “I heard him also saying, ‘And he praises and glorifies Allah and says ‘Allah is the Greatest,’ he said: I have heard them both saying. He, peace be upon him, said : “And he recites whatever is easy for him from the Quran that Allah has taught him and allowed him to recite. Then he says ‘Allahu Akbar’ and bows, remaining in that position until his joints are at ease and relaxing. Then he says, “Allah hears the one who praises Him.” Afterward, he stands upright until he straightens his spine. Then he says ‘Allahu Akbar’ and prostrates, allowing his face to rest comfortably (and I have heard him say, “His forehead”) until his joints are at ease and relaxing. Then he says ‘Allahu Akbar’ and raises himself until he is sitting firmly on his sitting position and straightens his spine. Then he says ‘Allahu Akbar’ and prostrates, allowing his face to rest comfortably, and he relaxes. If he doesn’t do this, his prayer is incomplete.”
In both narrations, the general recitation of the Quran is mentioned, but the specific mention of Al-Fatihah is not included. This is noteworthy, especially considering that the occasion was for teaching prayer, and the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) did not typically delay important instructions when the need arose.
The second opinion:
The view of the majority of scholars from the Maliki, Shafi’i, and Hanbali schools, which holds that reciting Surah Al-Fatiha is a pillar (Rukn) among the pillars of prayer, and the prayer is not valid for someone capable of reciting it except by reciting it. These scholars base their argument on the following:
1. The hadith of Ubada bin As-Samit, in which the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “There is no prayer for the one who does not recite the Opening of the Book (Al-Fatiha).”
2. The hadith of Abu Huraira in which the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: “Whoever performs a prayer and does not recite the Opening of the Book (Al-Fatiha) in it, then his prayer is incomplete, incomplete, incomplete.”
There are other narrations with similar meanings, and all of this applies to the individual’s obligation to recite Al-Fatiha in their prayer, whether it is a missed (Qada) prayer, an obligatory (Fard) prayer, or a recommended (Sunnah) prayer.
Our preference is for the first opinion, which is the view held by the Hanafi and Thawri schools, and this is due to the following reasons:
1. The generality of the verse from Surah Al-Muzzammil, as we mentioned earlier.
2. The hadith regarding the one who prays incorrectly in their prayer does not specify the recitation of Al-Fatiha but rather generalizes the act of recitation.
3. The hadiths used by the majority of scholars are interpreted to refer to the completeness of the prayer, not necessarily its validity. There is a distinction between imperfection (incompleteness) and invalidity.
We can interpret these narrations in this way. When the Prophet (peace be upon him) said, “There is no prayer for him,” it means there is no complete prayer. This has parallels that can only be understood as a negation of completeness, not negation of the essence and validity. Among these parallels:
– Anas reported: “Whenever the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) delivered a sermon, he would say, ‘There is no faith for the one who has no trust, and there is no religion for the one who has no covenant.'” [Sahih Hadith reported by Ahmad in his Musnad]
Can it be said that someone who does not uphold trust has deviated from the essence of Islamic faith? Or can it be said that someone who does not honor covenants has departed from the principles of the religion? The accurate statement would be that they do not have complete faith or complete adherence to the religion.
The hadith of Ali ibn Shiban narrates: “We went out and reached the Prophet (peace be upon him) and gave him our pledge (bay’ah). We prayed behind him, and when he finished the prayer, he noticed a man praying by himself behind the row. The Prophet (peace be upon him) stood there until the man finished and then said, ‘Redo your prayer, for there is no prayer for the one who prays behind the row.'” [Hadith reported by Ibn Majah]
The statement in the narration, “There is no prayer for the one who prays behind the row,” is a negation of completeness rather than invalidity. Otherwise, it would imply that Ibn Abbas prayed individually behind the Prophet, and Abu Bakr prayed the Prophet’s prayer individually.
– Similarly, the statement of the Prophet (peace be upon him), “Whoever hears the call to prayer and does not come to it, then there is no prayer for him except for a valid excuse,” [Hadith reported by Ibn Majah, Ad-Daraqutni, Ibn Hibban, Al-Hakim, with a chain meeting the criteria of Imam Muslim]
– The narration that states, “There is no prayer for the neighbor of the mosque except in the mosque,” despite the dispute in the chain.
I say: Has anyone ever said that someone’s prayer at home is either invalid or it is lacking in reward?
Indeed, it is established from the Prophet (peace be upon him) that he said: “There is no prayer in the presence of food, nor when one needs to relieve oneself.” [Reported by Muslim and others]
Does anyone claim that someone’s prayer is invalid simply because they prayed in the presence of food? And there are many similar stances like this.
So, what we see is that the hadith, “There is no prayer for the one who does not recite the Opening of the Book,” operates according to what we mentioned earlier, negating completeness rather than invalidity, and the prayer is valid without Al-Fatiha.
4. The dissenting opinion from the Hanafi School aligns with them when the worshipper is following an Imam (praying behind someone else). They say that reciting Al-Fatiha is not obligatory in this case. This is the view held by the Maliki and Hanbali schools. However, it contradicts their stance regarding the obligation of reciting Al-Fatiha in individual prayer, as they base their argument on a single evidence of obligation. Therefore, they agree on some aspects and differ on others, which results in inconsistency in their rulings.
Secondly, if the worshipper is in a congregation, following an Imam:
This situation involves two matters:
Either he joined the prayer with the Imam, or he missed some or most of the prayer. If he prayed with the Imam, scholars have different opinions regarding his recitation of Al-Fatiha depending on the prayer:
1- Audible (Aloud) Prayer:
The majority of scholars from the Hanafi, Maliki, and Hanbali schools, as well as one opinion among the Shafi’i school, hold that it is not obligatory for the follower to recite behind the Imam. However, the Shafi’i school, along with some scholars of hadith, argue that recitation is required.
Imam Ibn Qudamah has documented the detailed differences among scholars on this issue along with their evidence, and I will provide his narration in full: “In the case of a follower in audible (loud) prayers, among the scholars of knowledge, there are those who believe that he should suffice with listening to the Imam’s recitation and should not recite Al-Fatiha or any other surah. Some of them believe that reciting Al-Fatiha is obligatory, but they do not recite any other surah. The most cautious approach is to recite Al-Fatiha. In Al-Mughni by Ibn Qudamah, it is summarized that when a follower can hear the Imam’s recitation, it is not obligatory for the follower to recite. This is also not recommended according to our school, as well as according to Al-Zuhri, Al-Thawri, Malik, Ibn Uyaynah, Ibn Al-Mubarak, Ishaq, and the followers of the Ra’i opinion. This is one of the two opinions attributed to Al-Shafi’i, and similar views are reported from Sa’id ibn Al-Musayyib, ‘Urwa ibn Al-Zubair, Abu Salamah ibn ‘Abd al-Rahman, Sa’id ibn Jubayr, and a group of early scholars. The other opinion according to Al-Shafi’i is that the follower should recite whatever the Imam recites audibly. Similar views are attributed to Al-Laith, Al-Awza’i, Ibn ‘Awn, Mak’hul, and Abu Thawr, based on the general statement of the Prophet (peace be upon him), “There is no prayer for one who does not recite the Opening of the Book (Al-Fatiha).” (muttafaqun ‘alayh) The hadith narrated by Ubada ibn al-Samit states: “We were behind the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) in the Fajr prayer. He recited (the Quran) and the recitation became difficult for him. When he finished (the prayer), he said, ‘Perhaps you recite behind your Imam?’ We replied, ‘Yes, O Messenger of Allah.’ He said, ‘Do not do so, except for the Opening of the Book (Al-Fatiha), for there is no prayer for one who does not recite it.'” (Narrated by Al-Athram and Abu Dawood) The hadith narrated by Abu Huraira states:The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: “Whoever performs a prayer and does not recite in it the Opening of the Book (Al-Fatiha), his prayer is incomplete, incomplete, incomplete. ” The narrator said: “O Abu Huraira, sometimes I am behind the Imam.” Abu Huraira then nudged his arm and said, “Recite it silently to yourself, O Persian!” (Narrated by Muslim and Abu Dawood)
Because it is a pillar of the prayer, reciting Al-Fatiha is not waived for the one following the Imam in prayer, just like the other pillars of the prayer. Also, those who are capable of standing are obliged to recite it, such as the Imam and the individual worshipper. We have the statement of Allah, “So when the Quran is recited, then listen to it and pay attention that you may receive mercy” [Al-A’raf, 7:204]. Ahmad ibn Hanbal said, “People agree that this verse pertains to the prayer.” Saeed ibn Al-Musayyib, Al-Hasan, Ibrahim, Muhammad ibn Ka’ab, and Al-Zuhri said, “It was revealed concerning the prayer.” Zaid ibn Aslam and Abu Al-Aaliyah said that they used to recite behind the Imam, and then the verse “So when the Quran is recited, then listen to it and pay attention that you may receive mercy” [Quran 7:204] was revealed. Ahmad, in one narration found in Abu Dawood, said, “People unanimously agree that this verse pertains to the prayer.” Because it is a general verse, it includes all aspects of prayer. Abu Huraira reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, “The imam has only been placed to be followed, so when he says the takbir, say the takbir, and when he recites, be silent.” (Sahih Muslim) The hadith narrated by Al-Khirqi, reported by Malik from Ibn Shihab, who reported from Ibn Akimah Al-Laythi, who reported from Abu Huraira, states that after the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, concluded a prayer, he asked, “Did anyone recite with me from among you?” A man said, “Yes, O Messenger of Allah.” The Prophet then said, “Why am I being competed in the Quran?” From that time onwards, people refrained from reciting aloud when praying behind the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, in the loud prayers. This hadith is reported in Malik’s Al-Muwatta, Abu Dawood, and At-Tirmidhi, who classified it as “hasan” (good).
2- Silent Prayer:
Regarding recitation in silent prayers, there are various opinions, and we can summarize them as follows:
– The opinion of the Hanafi scholars, and those who agree with them, is that there is no recitation for the follower (ma’mum) in any form of prayer, whether silent or aloud, as they are considered followers of the Imam. They support this view with the general statement of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him): “Whoever has an Imam, the recitation of the Imam is his recitation.” This narration is reported from eight companions and has also been transmitted as a Mursal narration, such as the narration of Abu ‘Amir al-Sha’bi. While the Hanafi scholars may not consider this narration as authenticated when taken individually, they rely on its widespread acceptance.
– The opinion of the Shafi’i and Dhahiri schools is that the follower (mamum) is obliged to recite in the silent (sirriyah) prayer just like in the audible (jahriyah) prayer, based on the general statement of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him): “There is no prayer for the one who does not recite the Opening of the Book (Al-Fatiha).”
– They also argue that when the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) commented on their recitation behind him in the Fajr prayer, he responded: “Perhaps you are reciting behind your Imam?” They replied, “Yes.” He then said, “Do not do so except with the Opening of the Book (Al-Fatiha), for there is no prayer for the one who does not recite it.” This hadith is recorded by Ahmad, Abu Dawood, and Ibn Hibban with a good (hasan) chain of narrators.
– The majority of scholars from the Maliki and Hanbali schools, along with some Hanafis, hold the view that recitation in the silent prayers (sirriyya) is recommended (mustahabb) but not obligatory. Their approach is to reconcile the various evidences, some of which suggest obligatory recitation while others emphasize the Imam’s role without the need for recitation by the follower.
This applies when the follower has attended the entire prayer. However, if the follower missed a part of the prayer and then stood up to make it up, the ruling for them would be the same as that of an individual worshipper, as mentioned earlier in the fatwa.
Whoever considers reciting Al-Fatiha as obligatory, then it becomes obligatory for them. And whoever does not consider it obligatory, then they make it up according to their belief.
What we prefer from all that has been mentioned is the opinion of the Hanafi scholars, which we have supported with evidence, whether in recitation aloud or silently, whether one is praying individually or as an Imam or a follower. In summary:
– That Al-Fatiha is not a pillar (Rukn) of the prayer, and the prayer is valid without it, though with some deficiency.
– That the follower (Mamum) in the audible prayer is not obliged to recite, but rather it is obligatory for them to listen. Similarly, in the silent prayer, it is not obligatory for the follower to recite, but it is recommended for them to do so to avoid remaining silent or becoming distracted during the prayer. If they miss something, they should make it up in its original manner.
And Allah knows best.
Fatwa by Dr. Khālid Naṣr