Is prayer rendered invalid if one does not seek refuge with Allah?

Question 622641

Does not seeking refuge with Allah [by saying A`udhu Billahi min ash-shaytan ir-rajim (I seek refuge with Allah from the accursed Shaytan)”] in prayer, if it is obligatory, render the prayer invalid, or is the prayer still valid even though omitting it incurs sin?

Summary of answer

Only the Zahiris (literalists) are of the view that deliberately not seeking refuge with Allah renders the prayer invalid, and the worshipper should make it up if he forgot it. The majority of scholars – to the extent that it was narrated that there was consensus on this matter – are of the view that the prayer of one who omits to seek refuge with Allah, either deliberately or by mistake, is still valid.

Answer

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Praise be to Allah, and blessings and peace be upon the Messenger of Allah:

I.

The scholars differed regarding the ruling on seeking refuge with Allah in the prayer. The majority of scholars of the four madhhabs are of the view that it is recommended (mustahabb), and this is the view that we think is most likely to be correct on this website.

Some of the early generations – such as `Ata’, ath-Thawri, al-Awza`i, Dawud and Ibn Hazam, and one view narrated from Ahmad – were of the view that it is obligatory in the prayer, and this is the view that was favoured by Shaykh al-Albani.

We have previously discussed the views of each group and their evidence, and there is no need to repeat that here. Please see question no. 74341.

II.

The Zahiris (literalists), who were the foremost among those who say that it is obligatory to seek refuge with Allah in every rak`ah, think that the prayer of one who deliberately omits to seek refuge with Allah is not valid; the one who omits it by mistake then remembers it before bowing should seek refuge with Allah and repeat his recitation; and the one who forgets it and does not remember before he bows should repeat the rak`ah in which he omitted it, and do the prostration of forgetfulness.

Ibn Hazm (may Allah have mercy on him) said:

If someone forgets to seek refuge with Allah or omits any part of al-Fatihah and does not remember it until he bows, he should repeat the rak`ah whenever he realizes that he omitted it, and do the prostration of forgetfulness, whether he is leading the prayer or is praying on his own.

If he is praying behind an imam, he should regard the part of the prayer from when he forgot it until he remembered as being invalid, then when the imam finishes the prayer, he should get up and make up whatever he considers to have been invalid, then do the prostration of forgetfulness. And we have mentioned that the proof for that is that if the worshipper forgot an obligatory part of his prayer, then he should do what he did not do as enjoined, and the carry on and repeat what he did from that point as he was enjoined.

And Allah, may He be Exalted, is the Source of strength.

End quote from Al-Muhalla bil-Athar, 2/282.

It says in Mawsu`at al-Fiqh al-Islami, published by Al-Awqaf al-Masriyyah, 5/165:

The view of the Zahiris (literalists) is that if someone forgets to seek refuge with Allah or omits part of al-Fatihah, and does not remember until he bows, he should resume from the point where he forgot the obligatory part and continue from there when he remembers that, and do the prostration of forgetfulness, if he is leading the prayer or is praying on his own. If he is praying behind an imam, he should regard the part of the prayer from when he forgot it until he remembered as being invalid. End quote.

We have not come across any view of the other imams who said that it is obligatory to seek refuge with Allah regarding the ruling on one who omits it either by mistake or deliberately.

However, the majority of scholars are of the view that the prayer is still valid if one forgets to seek refuge with Allah before starting to recite in the prayer, and some even narrated that there was consensus on that.

Imam at-Tabari (may Allah have mercy on him) said:

The verse {When you recite the Quran, seek refuge with Allah from the accursed Shaytan} [An-Nahl 16:98] is not a command in the sense that it is compulsory; rather it is by way of informing and recommending, because there is no difference of opinion among all scholars that the one who recites Quran and does not seek refuge with Allah from the accursed Shaytan before he starts to recite or after he starts has not omitted an obligatory action.

End quote from Tafsir at-Tabari, 17/293.

For more information, please see the following questions on our website: 74341 and 2506.

And Allah knows best.

Essentials of Prayer