Question
I understand you cannot take many questions but I hope you will be patient with me as this is the first time I have been able to post a question after trying for a very very long time, I will try to make the questions as related to each other as possible and I do not require any detailed explanations, just simple answers
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Please can you tell me if it is ‘essential’ to move the lips in salah or is it OK to pray in the mind. If a person prefers to pray in the mind will his prayer be valid or not? Is there a sin in praying in the mind? Also, if it is essential to pray by moving the lips does this relate to both recitation of the Quran as well as when saying words such as Allahu Akbar, Sami Allahulimanhamidah and so on?
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Secondly, if a person makes a mistake in salah which would otherwise make the salah invalid but he is praying behind the Imam, does it mean that as long as the Imam’s salah is complete he should not worry about the validity of the salah?
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I follow the opinion that an intentionally missed prayer or fast cannot be made up and one can only rely on repentance and doing good works to make up for it, as this is most convenient opinion for me and better for me to concentrate on the future and the mercy of Allah instead of becoming depressed with the burden of the past (as the view of Ibn Taymiyah). My question is that is there a condition for following this opinion? For example if a person was/is praying now and then but not regularly, and still did/does the other things such as zakah and fasting most fasts in Ramadan but just doesn’t pray regularly as is the common case among Muslims in western countries, then can he still follow these rulings or are they only for a person who was totally not following Islam at all for a long time even though Muslim by name? Also, does a person who intentionally misses a prayer/fast become a kaafir as this is what some of the scolars who have written the above opinion have stated, is this not a bit too harsh? Please clarify briefly.
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When it is said that nafl prayers can be offered to overcome lost prayers, is there a value to a nafl prayer or is this known to Allah alone? Also, can only nafl prayers cover up missed prayers, or can other nafl acts such as charity and saqadqah and so on help with missed prayers too?
Thank you for your help,
Wassalam
Answer
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Moving of lips is not essential. When praying alone, one may recite the words in one’s heart.
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Yes. The exception, obviously, is where one’s wudu is invalidated.
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Prayer is obligatory. One must truly repent for any prayers that he has missed. True repentance entails that one is committed not to repeat the sin. If one continues to miss prayers (on a regular basis), it may raise questions about the sincerity of his repentance. We must try to be regular in our prayers, under all circumstances.
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Sala’h is one of the most loved act of God. If we have missed obligatory prayers, I would personally consider it best to cover those up with supererogatory prayers.
Moiz Amjad
March 19, 2006