The ruling on one who doubts about reciting al-Fatihah and adds a fifth rak'ah
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Question:
A man asked about a situation where he prayed the four-unit prayer with the imam and doubted in some of the rak'ahs that he had not recited al-Fatihah, so he stood up and added a fifth rak'ah. Is he correct or not? Is his prayer valid?
Answer:
We know of evil in that, if Allah wills, but what appears to be the case is that if he doubts about it and is not certain that he recited al-Fatihah, then in reality he is not required to add a rak'ah, because it is apparent that he recited it. It is apparent from a Muslim that he recited it, as long as he has hesitation. The closest and most apparent view is that he recited it. However, it is easier for the believer than for the imam or the one praying alone. But if he adds a rak'ah as a precaution, there is no harm, if Allah wills, in place of the rak'ah in which he lost al-Fatihah and doubted about al-Fatihah. There is no harm, and you hope there is no blame. Yes.
A man asked about a situation where he prayed the four-unit prayer with the imam and doubted in some of the rak'ahs that he had not recited al-Fatihah, so he stood up and added a fifth rak'ah. Is he correct or not? Is his prayer valid?
Answer:
We know of evil in that, if Allah wills, but what appears to be the case is that if he doubts about it and is not certain that he recited al-Fatihah, then in reality he is not required to add a rak'ah, because it is apparent that he recited it. It is apparent from a Muslim that he recited it, as long as he has hesitation. The closest and most apparent view is that he recited it. However, it is easier for the believer than for the imam or the one praying alone. But if he adds a rak'ah as a precaution, there is no harm, if Allah wills, in place of the rak'ah in which he lost al-Fatihah and doubted about al-Fatihah. There is no harm, and you hope there is no blame. Yes.
Source
فتاوى الحج - ٢ — archive.org (57:39)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.
