A man led a congregation in prayer and did not pronounce the letter "ra" in the opening takbir, then said to himself
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The questioner : He says: "May the Shaykh be respected, I led a congregation in prayer and did not pronounce the letter 'ra' in the opening takbir. Then I said to myself, 'I will repeat the takbir,' so I repeated it silently and continued the prayer, knowing that the congregation behind me had based their prayer on the first takbir in which I did not pronounce the 'ra' and in which I intended something else. Is my action valid? Do I bear any sin? And is their prayer valid?"
The Shaykh : As for the prayer of the followers, it is valid because they did what they were commanded to do. What were they commanded to do? When the imam says the takbir, they say the takbir. So they said the takbir after the imam's takbir. Thus, they did what they were commanded to do, and whoever does what he is commanded to do is free from blame. So the prayer of the followers is valid. As for his own prayer, it is also valid because he repeated the takbir in a manner that suffices. However, in my opinion, this man suffers from waswas (whispers of doubt), and he likely said the takbir completely, but he is afflicted with waswas. We ask Allah for safety from this. The one afflicted with waswas does something and then says, "Perhaps I did not do it." So he says, "I will repeat it to be safe," and repeats it. Then he says, "Perhaps there is something wrong with the repetition," and Shaytan tells him, "Repeat it to be safe," so he repeats it. Then he says to himself, "This is a precaution, a precaution," and he repeats it a fifth time. Some people, may Allah grant me and them and you safety, remain for an hour or two without saying the opening takbirs, as Shaytan plays with them. It is obligatory for the one afflicted with waswas to seek refuge in Allah from the accursed Shaytan, and to proceed and stay away from this, and not to worry about it. It is said that a man came to one of the scholars who had performed ghusl from janabah in the Tigris River. He came to him and said, "O my master, I go to the Tigris and perform ghusl from janabah, then I come to pray, but I say that I did not perform ghusl and that my janabah has not been lifted. What do you say? What do you say, O Shaykh?" He said, "I say to you: Do not pray." "How can I not pray?" He said, "Yes, because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) said:Sunan an-Nasa'i 3432Hasan (Darussalam) And you are insane. How can you perform ghusl in the middle of the river and say that your state of impurity has not been lifted? This is insanity.
Therefore, we ask Allah for safety and well-being. Those afflicted with waswas become like the insane; they repeat something many times and say, "I did not do it," or they repeat the takbir, "Allahu Akbar, k-k-k-k," yes, several times, until their throats are injured from the repetition, and they say, "I did not say the takbir." It is obligatory for a person, if he is afflicted with this—and I ask Allah for safety—that he say, "I seek refuge in Allah from the accursed Shaytan," and stay away from it. Then, the one who gradually deals with waswas may move to a more severe waswas, until he thinks that he has divorced his wife. If he says, "Long life to you," he says, "I said 'ta' and 'ta,' meaning divorce," so he says, "I have divorced my wife." Then Shaytan continues to torment him in his mind, and he says, "Okay, why should I trouble myself? Let me divorce clearly and be done with it," and he divorces. Similarly, there is the one who is in a state of purity and doubts whether he has broken his wudu or not, and he says, "Yes, yes, I am anxious, I will break my wudu now," and then he breaks it. This exists, my brothers. This exists. It is all due to Shaytan playing with the person until he brings him to the level of the insane. We ask Allah for safety for us and for you. The person afflicted with waswas does not do it by choice, because some of them cry and are exhausted, crying like a child to get rid of it, but they are unable to. Therefore, we must turn to Allah (Mighty and Majestic) to protect us and our Muslim brothers from waswas. Yes.
The Shaykh : As for the prayer of the followers, it is valid because they did what they were commanded to do. What were they commanded to do? When the imam says the takbir, they say the takbir. So they said the takbir after the imam's takbir. Thus, they did what they were commanded to do, and whoever does what he is commanded to do is free from blame. So the prayer of the followers is valid. As for his own prayer, it is also valid because he repeated the takbir in a manner that suffices. However, in my opinion, this man suffers from waswas (whispers of doubt), and he likely said the takbir completely, but he is afflicted with waswas. We ask Allah for safety from this. The one afflicted with waswas does something and then says, "Perhaps I did not do it." So he says, "I will repeat it to be safe," and repeats it. Then he says, "Perhaps there is something wrong with the repetition," and Shaytan tells him, "Repeat it to be safe," so he repeats it. Then he says to himself, "This is a precaution, a precaution," and he repeats it a fifth time. Some people, may Allah grant me and them and you safety, remain for an hour or two without saying the opening takbirs, as Shaytan plays with them. It is obligatory for the one afflicted with waswas to seek refuge in Allah from the accursed Shaytan, and to proceed and stay away from this, and not to worry about it. It is said that a man came to one of the scholars who had performed ghusl from janabah in the Tigris River. He came to him and said, "O my master, I go to the Tigris and perform ghusl from janabah, then I come to pray, but I say that I did not perform ghusl and that my janabah has not been lifted. What do you say? What do you say, O Shaykh?" He said, "I say to you: Do not pray." "How can I not pray?" He said, "Yes, because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) said:
The pen has been lifted from three: From the sleeper until he wakes up, from the minor until he grows up, and from the insane until he comes back to his senses or recovers.
رفع القلم عن ثلاث عن النائم حتى يفيق وعن الصغير حتى يبلغ وعن المجنون حتى يفيقTherefore, we ask Allah for safety and well-being. Those afflicted with waswas become like the insane; they repeat something many times and say, "I did not do it," or they repeat the takbir, "Allahu Akbar, k-k-k-k," yes, several times, until their throats are injured from the repetition, and they say, "I did not say the takbir." It is obligatory for a person, if he is afflicted with this—and I ask Allah for safety—that he say, "I seek refuge in Allah from the accursed Shaytan," and stay away from it. Then, the one who gradually deals with waswas may move to a more severe waswas, until he thinks that he has divorced his wife. If he says, "Long life to you," he says, "I said 'ta' and 'ta,' meaning divorce," so he says, "I have divorced my wife." Then Shaytan continues to torment him in his mind, and he says, "Okay, why should I trouble myself? Let me divorce clearly and be done with it," and he divorces. Similarly, there is the one who is in a state of purity and doubts whether he has broken his wudu or not, and he says, "Yes, yes, I am anxious, I will break my wudu now," and then he breaks it. This exists, my brothers. This exists. It is all due to Shaytan playing with the person until he brings him to the level of the insane. We ask Allah for safety for us and for you. The person afflicted with waswas does not do it by choice, because some of them cry and are exhausted, crying like a child to get rid of it, but they are unable to. Therefore, we must turn to Allah (Mighty and Majestic) to protect us and our Muslim brothers from waswas. Yes.