His second question states that he is distracted during prayer and preoccupied with worldly matters, and despite his efforts to abandon this bad habit, he has been unable to do so, and he asked
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The questioner : His second question states that he is distracted during prayer and preoccupied with worldly matters, and despite his efforts to abandon this bad habit, he has been unable to do so, and he asked a man who is a scholar after he prayed with us, and the man said to him, "You have no prayer." Is this correct? Please advise us, may Allah reward you all with good?
The Shaykh : If by "you have no prayer" he means you have no complete, perfect prayer, then that is correct, because intrusive thoughts and whispers during prayer diminish it.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : If by "you have no prayer" he means that your prayer is invalid, then some scholars have held this view, stating that if the whispers dominate most of the prayer, it must be repeated. I do not know if this imam is a scholar who holds this view; if so, it is his opinion, and it is an opinion that has been stated.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : However, the majority of scholars hold that whispers do not invalidate the prayer, even if they are numerous, because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) informed us that Satan comes to a person during his prayer and says, "Remember this, remember that, remember that," referring to things he was not remembering.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did not specify that this applies to only part of the prayer or to most of it. However, we say that a person should ward off this matter from himself by following what the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) guided us to, where he said: The narrator, who is a Companion, said, "So I did that, and Allah removed from me what I was feeling." This is the effective remedy to which the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) guided us.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Yes.
The Shaykh : If by "you have no prayer" he means you have no complete, perfect prayer, then that is correct, because intrusive thoughts and whispers during prayer diminish it.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : If by "you have no prayer" he means that your prayer is invalid, then some scholars have held this view, stating that if the whispers dominate most of the prayer, it must be repeated. I do not know if this imam is a scholar who holds this view; if so, it is his opinion, and it is an opinion that has been stated.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : However, the majority of scholars hold that whispers do not invalidate the prayer, even if they are numerous, because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) informed us that Satan comes to a person during his prayer and says, "Remember this, remember that, remember that," referring to things he was not remembering.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did not specify that this applies to only part of the prayer or to most of it. However, we say that a person should ward off this matter from himself by following what the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) guided us to, where he said:
He seeks refuge in Allah and spits to his left three times, and if he does that, Allah will remove from him what he is feeling.
يتعوذ بالله ويتفل عن يساره ثلاث مرات فإذا فعل ذلك أذهب الله عنه ما يجدThe questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Yes.