How Should I Exit a Prayer That I Mistakenly Started?

Answered by Shaykh Irshaad Sedick

Question

How should I exit a prayer that I mistakenly started, and was my method of ending the prayer (standing up, then saying salam to both sides) permissible?

Answer

In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate.

Shafi‘i School

In the Shafi‘i School, if one mistakenly starts a prayer and needs to exit it, the mere intention to leave it is sufficient to invalidate it. [Nawawi, Minhaj al-Talibin]

However, one should only do this for legitimate reasons. Allah says: “O believers! Obey Allah and obey the Messenger, and do not let your deeds be in vain.” [Quran, 47:33]

Hanafi School

In the Hanafi School, the prescribed method to exit a prayer is to perform a single Taslim to the right. [Ibn ‘Abidin, Radd al-Muhtar]

The mere intention to break the prayer is not sufficient to break it, according to the Hanafi School.

Summary

Your method of standing up and then saying salam to both sides is not the normative method in either School. While it may suffice to invalidate the prayer due to your intention, it would be preferable in the future to adhere to the correct method according to the School you follow.

And Allah knows best.

[Shaykh] Irshaad Sedick
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Mohammad Abu Bakr Badhib

Shaykh Irshaad Sedick was raised in South Africa in a traditional Muslim family. He graduated from Dar al-Ulum al-Arabiyyah al-Islamiyyah in Strand, Western Cape, under the guidance of the late world-renowned scholar Shaykh Taha Karaan (Allah have mercy on him), where he taught.

Shaykh Irshaad received Ijaza from many luminaries of the Islamic world, including Shaykh Taha Karaan, Shaykh Muhammad Awama, Shaykh Muhammad Hasan Hitu, and Mawlana Abdul Hafeez Makki, among others.

He is the author of the text “The Musnad of Ahmad ibn Hanbal: A Hujjah or not?” He has been the Director of the Discover Islam Centre, and for six years, he has been the Khatib of Masjid Ar-Rashideen, Mowbray, Cape Town.

Shaykh Irshaad has fifteen years of teaching experience at some of the leading Islamic institutes in Cape Town). He is currently building an Islamic podcast, education, and media platform called ‘Isnad Academy’ and has completed his Master’s degree in the study of Islam at the University of Johannesburg. He has a keen interest in healthy Prophetic living and fitness.