The Categories of Movements in Prayer
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If a person is in voluntary prayer and is reciting through the surahs, and he forgets some of the verses, and he has a mushaf in front of him, is it permissible for him to take the mushaf to review what he missed in his recitation, or should he stop at the last verse he recited and bow?
There is no harm in either of these. As long as he is praying alone in a voluntary prayer, if a verse is unclear to him and the mushaf is near him, there is no harm in taking it and looking at it; because this is for a need and a benefit related to the prayer. And there is no harm in stopping the recitation and bowing; because sometimes when he bows, he remembers the verses he forgot. So there is no harm in bowing and then remembering them, and that is what is sought. If he does not remember them, he recites whatever is easy for him.
Perhaps we should mention here the states of movements in prayer: The original ruling for movements in prayer is that they are disliked; because the person is standing before Allah (Mighty and Majestic), and Allah the Exalted is looking at him, knowing what is in his heart, and hearing what he says. So do not move. If you were standing before a king of the kings, you would see that proper conduct is not to fidget much in front of him. How much more so when you are before Allah (Mighty and Majestic)?? So the original ruling for movement is that it is disliked, but it is also divided into what is not disliked, and it becomes permissible, or obligatory, or a recommended practice, and it may be forbidden. These are five rulings.
It becomes obligatory if the validity of the prayer depends on it.An example of that is: A person comes to you while you are praying in a certain direction, and he is more knowledgeable about the direction than you.So he said: If the qiblah is to your right, then turning is obligatory.Meaning: The prayer is not valid except by facing the qiblah. And if the one praying now knows that he is not facing the qiblah, he must turn. For this reason, when a man from the people of Quba came and informed them while they were praying the Fajr prayer that the qiblah had been changed to the Ka'bah, they turned around, so they turned their backs to what they had been facing initially.
If it is mentioned to you that there is ritual impurity on your head covering while you are praying, then movement here is obligatory. He must remove it; because when the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was informed by Jibril that there was filth in his sandals, he removed them while he was praying.
If an itch distracts you, should you scratch it to cool down and return to your prayer, or should you remain in conflict with it, a spiritual conflict rather than a physical one? Which is better? The first; scratch it and cool down. This movement is either permissible or a recommended practice; because it is for the perfection of the prayer.
If a gap opens up in front of you in the row, do you move forward to it, or not? I move forward to it. This is a movement, but it is a recommended practice because of closing the gap and completing the rows.
A movement becomes disliked if it has no reason.For example: Some people pray, and you find them moving, adjusting their head covering, or their pen, or their watch. Some look at the watch while praying, and some write while praying, perhaps to remember a need he mentioned in his prayer and he fears he will forget it a second time, so he writes it down so he does not forget. This is fidgeting with no need for it, so the movement in this case is disliked.
All right! His head covering fell off while he was praying. If he continued in his prayer, it would not affect it, but he likes to take it and put it on. He may do so; because this is a permissible action, and even though the prayer is complete without it, he likes to be in the most complete state of clothing.
Therefore: Movement is divided into five categories, and the more a person is still in heart and still in limbs, the more perfect his prayer is.
There is no harm in either of these. As long as he is praying alone in a voluntary prayer, if a verse is unclear to him and the mushaf is near him, there is no harm in taking it and looking at it; because this is for a need and a benefit related to the prayer. And there is no harm in stopping the recitation and bowing; because sometimes when he bows, he remembers the verses he forgot. So there is no harm in bowing and then remembering them, and that is what is sought. If he does not remember them, he recites whatever is easy for him.
Perhaps we should mention here the states of movements in prayer: The original ruling for movements in prayer is that they are disliked; because the person is standing before Allah (Mighty and Majestic), and Allah the Exalted is looking at him, knowing what is in his heart, and hearing what he says. So do not move. If you were standing before a king of the kings, you would see that proper conduct is not to fidget much in front of him. How much more so when you are before Allah (Mighty and Majestic)?? So the original ruling for movement is that it is disliked, but it is also divided into what is not disliked, and it becomes permissible, or obligatory, or a recommended practice, and it may be forbidden. These are five rulings.
It becomes obligatory if the validity of the prayer depends on it.An example of that is: A person comes to you while you are praying in a certain direction, and he is more knowledgeable about the direction than you.So he said: If the qiblah is to your right, then turning is obligatory.Meaning: The prayer is not valid except by facing the qiblah. And if the one praying now knows that he is not facing the qiblah, he must turn. For this reason, when a man from the people of Quba came and informed them while they were praying the Fajr prayer that the qiblah had been changed to the Ka'bah, they turned around, so they turned their backs to what they had been facing initially.
If it is mentioned to you that there is ritual impurity on your head covering while you are praying, then movement here is obligatory. He must remove it; because when the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was informed by Jibril that there was filth in his sandals, he removed them while he was praying.
If an itch distracts you, should you scratch it to cool down and return to your prayer, or should you remain in conflict with it, a spiritual conflict rather than a physical one? Which is better? The first; scratch it and cool down. This movement is either permissible or a recommended practice; because it is for the perfection of the prayer.
If a gap opens up in front of you in the row, do you move forward to it, or not? I move forward to it. This is a movement, but it is a recommended practice because of closing the gap and completing the rows.
A movement becomes disliked if it has no reason.For example: Some people pray, and you find them moving, adjusting their head covering, or their pen, or their watch. Some look at the watch while praying, and some write while praying, perhaps to remember a need he mentioned in his prayer and he fears he will forget it a second time, so he writes it down so he does not forget. This is fidgeting with no need for it, so the movement in this case is disliked.
All right! His head covering fell off while he was praying. If he continued in his prayer, it would not affect it, but he likes to take it and put it on. He may do so; because this is a permissible action, and even though the prayer is complete without it, he likes to be in the most complete state of clothing.
Therefore: Movement is divided into five categories, and the more a person is still in heart and still in limbs, the more perfect his prayer is.