No prayer for one who does not recite the opening of the Book, and what is the ruling for an elderly person who is unable to recite it?

Question : Honorable Shaykh, this sister calling in on the line mentions that her mother is sixty-three years old, but she says she does not know how to recite the opening of the Book, she does not know the verses, and she does not know how to pray. The questioner asks: Am I sinful? And what is obligatory for me?

Answer : The mother must learn to recite the opening of the Book, because there is no prayer for one who does not recite the opening of the Book. I think this is easy. And whatever is in addition to the opening of the Book is not obligatory if she is unable to do it except with great difficulty; it is not obligatory.