Question # 472: Assalaam, When I pray salaah sometimes I think that I forgot an aayah in surah faatiha and then when I think about it I really forget it making me helpless to repeat the entire salaah again. Please help me

bismi-llahi r-raḥmani r-raḥīm,

Assalamu ‘laikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh,

All praise and thanks are due to Allah (سبحانه و تعالى), and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger (صلى الله عليه و سلم).

Dear questioner,

First of all, we implore Allah (سبحانه و تعالى) to help us serve His cause and render our work for His sake.

Shorter Answer: If a person doubts whether or not he has recited a verse of Soorah al-Fatihah [while standing in salah], then he is obliged to recite it again. However, if he remembers it after completing the prayer (with long- and significant-time interval) and he is certain about it, then he is obliged to perform the entire prayer over again. Refer to Question # 385 about forgetting to recite Soorah al-Fatihah (in part or full) at various stages in salah. However, if one has doubts about such matters, he should completely ignore such whisperings. He should just recite al-Fatihah only once, no matter how many times Shaytan whispers that he did not recite it correctly or forgot an ayah. Also, do not repeat the prayer either and the prayer will be valid without a doubt, In Sha Allah.

Long Answer: If a person doubts whether or not he has recited a verse of Chapter Al-Fatihah [while standing in salah], then he is obliged to recite it again. However, if he remembers it after completing the prayer (with long- and significant-time interval) and he is certain about it, then he is obliged to perform the entire prayer over again. However, if a person doubts whether or not he has recited a verse of Chapter Al-Fatihah [while standing in salah], then he is obliged to recite it again and his prayer does not become void by him doing so. An-Nawawi said in Al-Majmoo’: “Also if one doubts that he has not properly recited a versed of it [Al-Fatihah], he is obliged to recite it again in a correct manner.”

Nevertheless, … [one should] put an end to [doubts]  by fear Allah and closing the door of whispers… [This will help] perform acts of worship in a proper manner because opening the door of whispers lead to a great evil that will be very difficult to get rid of. One should know that whisperings are a door to a grave evil and that giving in to them leads to serious harm. Therefore, one should ignore such whisperings and lock the door to them. Recite Al-Fatihah only once and do not repeat any verse no matter how many times Shaytan whispers that you did not recite it correctly. Do not repeat the prayer either, regardless of the whisperings that one may experience. Rather, perform the prayer once, and the prayer is valid without a doubt, In Sha Allah. The treatment for whispers is to neglect them and avoid them and there is no other treatment for them than this.

(The above reply is based on various answers provided on Islamweb.net, a web site belonging to the Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs in the State of Qatar, on similar topics)

Allahu A’lam (Allah (سبحانه و تعالى) knows best) and all Perfections belong to Allah, and all mistakes belong to me alone. May Allah (سبحانه و تعالى) forgive me, Ameen.

Wassalaam