What is the ruling on numerous and minor movements during prayer?
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The questioner : Your Eminence the Shaykh (may Allah preserve you), what is the ruling on numerous movements during prayer?
The Shaykh : Numerous movements during prayer, if they are not due to necessity and are consecutive, following one another, invalidate the prayer. The prayer is invalidated, and the person must restart it from the beginning, because this means playing with the prayer and lacking humility, so the prayer is invalidated. As for the minor movement, one should look at it.
If it is for a need, there is nothing wrong with it, because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) moved during prayer for a need. He was praying while carrying his granddaughter, Ummah bint Zayd. When he stood, he carried her, and when he prostrated, he put her down. This is a movement, but this is a need. What is the need? The need is caring for this girl and soothing her.
And Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) asked permission one day to enter the house, so he moved forward and opened the door for her. This is a need, is it not? Good. And likewise, if it is a legal need related to the prayer, there is nothing wrong with it; rather, it is a recommended practice (sunnah).
As the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did when he prayed on the pulpit. The first time the pulpit was made, he prayed on it. So he was standing on the pulpit, and the people were watching him. He would bow, and when he wanted to prostrate, he would descend and pray on the ground. He prostrated on the ground. This is a movement, but it follows the prayer, so it is among its complements. And likewise, when Abdullah ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) stood to his left, intending that he be his imam, he took his head from behind and placed him to his right. And there are many examples of this.
So the minor movement, if a legal or non-legal need calls for it, is it obligatory? Is it obligatory, people? There is nothing wrong with it. And among that, if a person is afflicted with an itch, let him move to scratch it. Let him scratch it. Because this is among the complements of the prayer. If he remained suffering from this itch, it would not cool down for him and would distract him. So if he scratches it, it cools down and he rests. So this scratching is permissible, if we do not say that it is prescribed. Yes. Because of the benefit in it.
The Shaykh : Numerous movements during prayer, if they are not due to necessity and are consecutive, following one another, invalidate the prayer. The prayer is invalidated, and the person must restart it from the beginning, because this means playing with the prayer and lacking humility, so the prayer is invalidated. As for the minor movement, one should look at it.
If it is for a need, there is nothing wrong with it, because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) moved during prayer for a need. He was praying while carrying his granddaughter, Ummah bint Zayd. When he stood, he carried her, and when he prostrated, he put her down. This is a movement, but this is a need. What is the need? The need is caring for this girl and soothing her.
And Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) asked permission one day to enter the house, so he moved forward and opened the door for her. This is a need, is it not? Good. And likewise, if it is a legal need related to the prayer, there is nothing wrong with it; rather, it is a recommended practice (sunnah).
As the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did when he prayed on the pulpit. The first time the pulpit was made, he prayed on it. So he was standing on the pulpit, and the people were watching him. He would bow, and when he wanted to prostrate, he would descend and pray on the ground. He prostrated on the ground. This is a movement, but it follows the prayer, so it is among its complements. And likewise, when Abdullah ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) stood to his left, intending that he be his imam, he took his head from behind and placed him to his right. And there are many examples of this.
So the minor movement, if a legal or non-legal need calls for it, is it obligatory? Is it obligatory, people? There is nothing wrong with it. And among that, if a person is afflicted with an itch, let him move to scratch it. Let him scratch it. Because this is among the complements of the prayer. If he remained suffering from this itch, it would not cool down for him and would distract him. So if he scratches it, it cools down and he rests. So this scratching is permissible, if we do not say that it is prescribed. Yes. Because of the benefit in it.
Source
لقاء مع طلاب جامعة الإمام بمسجد الإسكان — archive.org (1:12:49)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.