What is the criterion for the movement that invalidates the prayer and the movement that does not?
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The questioner : I have noticed here that many people in prayer are not completely humble; they engage in many movements without need, such as putting a hand in a pocket, adjusting the turban, putting on a watch and looking at it, and similar extra movements. Do these movements affect the validity of the prayer? Is there a specific number of movements that invalidates the prayer?
The Shaykh : Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and I send prayers and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his Companions. The one who prays is conversing with his Lord, Glorified and Exalted is He, as established by the hadith from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). In the two Sahihs, from the hadith of Abu Hurayrah, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: قال الله تعالى: قسمت الصلاة بيني وبين عبدي نصفين، فإذا قال: الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ قال الله تعالى: حمدني عبدي، وإذا قال: الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيمِ قال الله تعالى: أثنى علي عبدي، وإذا قال: مَالِكِ يَوْمِ الدِّينِ قال الله تعالى: مجدني عبدي، وإذا قال: إِيَّاكَ نَعْبُدُ وَإِيَّاكَ نَسْتَعِينُ قال الله تعالى: هذا بيني وبين عبدي نصفين، ولعبدي ما سأل Allah the Exalted said: I have divided the prayer between Me and My servant in two halves. So when he says: Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, Allah the Exalted says: My servant has praised Me. And when he says: The Most Merciful, the Bestower of Mercy, Allah the Exalted says: My servant has extolled Me. And when he says: Master of the Day of Judgment, Allah the Exalted says: My servant has glorified Me. And when he says: You alone we worship and You alone we ask for help, Allah the Exalted says: This is between Me and My servant in two halves, and for My servant is what he asked. So worship is for Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, and seeking help is asking for aid from Allah, Mighty and Majestic ثم إذا قال: اهْدِنَا الصِّرَاطَ الْمُسْتَقِيمَ * صِرَاطَ الَّذِينَ أَنْعَمْتَ عَلَيْهِمْ غَيْرِ الْمَغْضُوبِ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلا الضَّالِّينَ قال الله: هذا لعبدي ولعبدي ما سأل Then when he says: Guide us to the straight path, the path of those upon whom You have bestowed favor, not of those who have earned Your anger or of those who are astray, Allah says: This is for My servant, and for My servant is what he asked. And by this we know that a person is conversing with Allah, Mighty and Majestic, in his prayer, and that Allah, Mighty and Majestic, responds to him in al-Fatihah with what the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) mentioned. If this is the case, then it is befitting to be polite with Allah, Mighty and Majestic, when you are standing before Him, conversing with Him in His words and drawing near to Him with His remembrance and supplication. It is established from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that he said:Sunan Abi Dawud 875Sahih (Al-Albani) And if this is the reality of this great prayer, then it becomes very emphasized that a person be humble in it with his heart and his limbs, to the extent that some scholars held that humility in prayer is obligatory, which is the presence of the heart with the stillness of the limbs. Movement contradicts this; it contradicts humility, because it is a sign of the lack of humility of the heart, for the limbs follow it, meaning the heart. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Sahih al-Bukhari 52 So these people about whom the questioner mentioned that they fiddle in their prayer with things they have no need for, there is no doubt that they have diminished this prayer of theirs. For movement without need is disliked in prayer, and if it becomes much and continuous, it invalidates it. So fixing the watch and looking at it, looking at the pen, fiddling with the beard or the nose, and the like, all of this is among the disliked movements.
And on this occasion, I would like to clarify that movement in prayer is of five types. The first type is obligatory movement, which is when the validity of the prayer depends on it. So any movement upon which the validity of the prayer depends is obligatory, whether that movement is for performing what is commanded or for leaving what is prohibited. An example of performing what is commanded: a man is praying in a direction other than the qiblah, so a person comes to him and says, "The qiblah is to your right." Here, he must turn to the right, and this is a movement to perform an obligatory command, which is facing the qiblah. This only occurs in the open desert in a place of independent legal reasoning. As for in the city, if he prays without independent legal reasoning, he must repeat the prayer from the beginning if it is clarified to him that he was not facing the qiblah.
And the evidence for this issue is that a man came to the people of Quba while they were praying facing the House of al-Masjid al-Aqsa after the qiblah had been turned to the Ka'bah, and they did not know that, and they were in the Fajr prayer. So the man said to them, "The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) has been revealed the Qur'an, and he has been commanded to face the qiblah, so face it." So they turned from the direction of the House of al-Masjid al-Aqsa to the direction of the Ka'bah. And this turning is obligatory because it is for obtaining an obligation.
And an example of what is for leaving what is prohibited: if a person remembers during his prayer that his cloak, meaning his shawl or his headscarf or his handkerchief in his pocket, has ritual impurity in it. Then in this case, he must remove it immediately, and this movement is for getting rid of a prohibited thing. And the evidence for that is: And it is known that removing the sandals or the headscarf or the like is a movement, but it is a movement for getting rid of a prohibited thing, so it became obligatory. This is a category, and it is the obligatory movement.
And the second category is recommended movement, which is when a recommended act in prayer results from it. For example: a person moves forward to a gap in the row in front of him to complete the row, and for example: he has lined up to the left of the imam, so the imam moves him to
his right, and for example: two people line up as a congregation, and a third person comes, so the ma'mum is moved to line up with them. All these movements are recommended, because they are for completing the prayer and obtaining its recommended acts, so they become recommended.
The third category is forbidden, and it is much continuous movement without necessity, like much fiddling such that one who sees this man feels that he is not praying because of the muchness of his fiddling and movement. So this invalidates the prayer, because he has taken the prayer out of its subject. And the correct view is that it is not restricted to three movements or the like, but rather what is much by custom and continuous invalidates the prayer, because it takes the prayer out of its subject and out of what it should be of humility and stillness.
The fourth category is permissible movement, and it is slight movement for need, and much movement for dire necessity.
As for much movement for dire necessity, for example: a person stands in his prayer, and then an enemy suddenly attacks him, so in this case, he may flee from him even if he is praying, even if much movement occurs, and for example: a beast or a snake or the like attacks him, so he runs to defend against it or eliminate it with much movement while he is in prayer, and there is no blame on him for that, because it is a dire necessity. And its evidence is the saying of Allah the Exalted:[Al-Baqarah 2:239] men, meaning walking on your feet, or riding on your mounts.
And also from the permissible category is slight work for need, for example: part of his body becomes inflamed with an itch and occupies him in his prayer, so he scratches it in order to be at ease and calm, so this is a slight movement, but it is for need, so it becomes permissible. And for example: his garment loosens on him, but it does not reach the exposure of the 'awrah, because if it reaches the exposure of the 'awrah, the movement becomes obligatory, but it loosens on him and he likes to tighten it more or the like, so this is also for need, so it becomes permissible.
The fifth category is the disliked, and it is slight movement without need, for example: the work of many people as mentioned by the questioner, of fiddling with his watch or his pen or his garment or a stick from the ground he fiddles with or the like, so this is disliked.
And with these five categories, the ruling on movement in prayer becomes clear to us, and the most important thing is that a person be present of heart in his prayer so that he knows what he says and what he does. And Allah is the one who grants success.
The questioner : May Allah reward you with good.
The Shaykh : Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and I send prayers and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his Companions. The one who prays is conversing with his Lord, Glorified and Exalted is He, as established by the hadith from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). In the two Sahihs, from the hadith of Abu Hurayrah, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: قال الله تعالى: قسمت الصلاة بيني وبين عبدي نصفين، فإذا قال: الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ قال الله تعالى: حمدني عبدي، وإذا قال: الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيمِ قال الله تعالى: أثنى علي عبدي، وإذا قال: مَالِكِ يَوْمِ الدِّينِ قال الله تعالى: مجدني عبدي، وإذا قال: إِيَّاكَ نَعْبُدُ وَإِيَّاكَ نَسْتَعِينُ قال الله تعالى: هذا بيني وبين عبدي نصفين، ولعبدي ما سأل Allah the Exalted said: I have divided the prayer between Me and My servant in two halves. So when he says: Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, Allah the Exalted says: My servant has praised Me. And when he says: The Most Merciful, the Bestower of Mercy, Allah the Exalted says: My servant has extolled Me. And when he says: Master of the Day of Judgment, Allah the Exalted says: My servant has glorified Me. And when he says: You alone we worship and You alone we ask for help, Allah the Exalted says: This is between Me and My servant in two halves, and for My servant is what he asked. So worship is for Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, and seeking help is asking for aid from Allah, Mighty and Majestic ثم إذا قال: اهْدِنَا الصِّرَاطَ الْمُسْتَقِيمَ * صِرَاطَ الَّذِينَ أَنْعَمْتَ عَلَيْهِمْ غَيْرِ الْمَغْضُوبِ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلا الضَّالِّينَ قال الله: هذا لعبدي ولعبدي ما سأل Then when he says: Guide us to the straight path, the path of those upon whom You have bestowed favor, not of those who have earned Your anger or of those who are astray, Allah says: This is for My servant, and for My servant is what he asked. And by this we know that a person is conversing with Allah, Mighty and Majestic, in his prayer, and that Allah, Mighty and Majestic, responds to him in al-Fatihah with what the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) mentioned. If this is the case, then it is befitting to be polite with Allah, Mighty and Majestic, when you are standing before Him, conversing with Him in His words and drawing near to Him with His remembrance and supplication. It is established from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that he said:
The nearest a servant come to his Lord is when he is prostrating himself
أقرب ما يكون العبد من ربه وهو ساجدBeware! There is a piece of flesh in the body if it becomes good (reformed) the whole body becomes good but if it gets spoilt the whole body gets spoilt and that is the heart.
ألا وإن في الجسد مضغة إذا صلحت صلح الجسد كله، وإذا فسدت فسد الجسد كله ألا وهي القلبAnd on this occasion, I would like to clarify that movement in prayer is of five types. The first type is obligatory movement, which is when the validity of the prayer depends on it. So any movement upon which the validity of the prayer depends is obligatory, whether that movement is for performing what is commanded or for leaving what is prohibited. An example of performing what is commanded: a man is praying in a direction other than the qiblah, so a person comes to him and says, "The qiblah is to your right." Here, he must turn to the right, and this is a movement to perform an obligatory command, which is facing the qiblah. This only occurs in the open desert in a place of independent legal reasoning. As for in the city, if he prays without independent legal reasoning, he must repeat the prayer from the beginning if it is clarified to him that he was not facing the qiblah.
And the evidence for this issue is that a man came to the people of Quba while they were praying facing the House of al-Masjid al-Aqsa after the qiblah had been turned to the Ka'bah, and they did not know that, and they were in the Fajr prayer. So the man said to them, "The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) has been revealed the Qur'an, and he has been commanded to face the qiblah, so face it." So they turned from the direction of the House of al-Masjid al-Aqsa to the direction of the Ka'bah. And this turning is obligatory because it is for obtaining an obligation.
And an example of what is for leaving what is prohibited: if a person remembers during his prayer that his cloak, meaning his shawl or his headscarf or his handkerchief in his pocket, has ritual impurity in it. Then in this case, he must remove it immediately, and this movement is for getting rid of a prohibited thing. And the evidence for that is:
The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to lead his companions in prayer, and the one to whom prayers are sent (peace and blessings be upon him) used to pray wearing his sandals. He removed them, and when he removed them, the people removed their sandals. When he finished the prayer, he asked them: Why did you remove your sandals? They said: We saw you remove your sandals, so we removed ours. He said (peace and blessings be upon him): Jibril came to me and mentioned to me that there was harm in them, or he said: filth, so I removed them.
أن النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم كان يصلي بأصحابه، وكان عليه الصلاة والسلام يصلي في نعليه فخلعهما، فلما خلعهما خلع الناس نعالهم، فلما سلم سألهم: ما بالهم خلعوا نعالهم؟ فقالوا: رأيناك خلعت نعليك فخلعنا نعالنا، فقال صلى الله عليه وسلم: إن جبريل أتاني فذكر لي أن فيهما أذىً أو قال: قذراً فخلعتهماAnd the second category is recommended movement, which is when a recommended act in prayer results from it. For example: a person moves forward to a gap in the row in front of him to complete the row, and for example: he has lined up to the left of the imam, so the imam moves him to
his right, and for example: two people line up as a congregation, and a third person comes, so the ma'mum is moved to line up with them. All these movements are recommended, because they are for completing the prayer and obtaining its recommended acts, so they become recommended.
The third category is forbidden, and it is much continuous movement without necessity, like much fiddling such that one who sees this man feels that he is not praying because of the muchness of his fiddling and movement. So this invalidates the prayer, because he has taken the prayer out of its subject. And the correct view is that it is not restricted to three movements or the like, but rather what is much by custom and continuous invalidates the prayer, because it takes the prayer out of its subject and out of what it should be of humility and stillness.
The fourth category is permissible movement, and it is slight movement for need, and much movement for dire necessity.
As for much movement for dire necessity, for example: a person stands in his prayer, and then an enemy suddenly attacks him, so in this case, he may flee from him even if he is praying, even if much movement occurs, and for example: a beast or a snake or the like attacks him, so he runs to defend against it or eliminate it with much movement while he is in prayer, and there is no blame on him for that, because it is a dire necessity. And its evidence is the saying of Allah the Exalted:
And if you fear [an enemy, then pray] on foot or riding
فَإِنْ خِفْتُمْ فَرِجَالًا أَوْ رُكْبَانًاAnd also from the permissible category is slight work for need, for example: part of his body becomes inflamed with an itch and occupies him in his prayer, so he scratches it in order to be at ease and calm, so this is a slight movement, but it is for need, so it becomes permissible. And for example: his garment loosens on him, but it does not reach the exposure of the 'awrah, because if it reaches the exposure of the 'awrah, the movement becomes obligatory, but it loosens on him and he likes to tighten it more or the like, so this is also for need, so it becomes permissible.
The fifth category is the disliked, and it is slight movement without need, for example: the work of many people as mentioned by the questioner, of fiddling with his watch or his pen or his garment or a stick from the ground he fiddles with or the like, so this is disliked.
And with these five categories, the ruling on movement in prayer becomes clear to us, and the most important thing is that a person be present of heart in his prayer so that he knows what he says and what he does. And Allah is the one who grants success.
The questioner : May Allah reward you with good.