What If I Am Unsure about Reciting Sura Fatiha in the Prayer?

Answered by Mawlana Ilyas Patel

Question

What should I do if I don’t remember whether I read sura Fatiha or not,  what should I do?

Answer

Reciting the Fatiha and a sura or three verses after the opening Takbir is mandatory (wajib). If one does not remember whether one recited the Fatiha or not with reasonable surety, one will have to do the forgetfulness prostration (sajdat al-sahw). [Shurunbulali, Nur al-Idah]

I hope this helps.

[Mawlana] Ilyas Patel
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Mawlana Ilyas Patel is a traditionally-trained scholar who has studied within UK, India, Pakistan, Syria, Jordan and Turkey.

He started his early education in UK. He went onto complete hifz of Qur’an in India, then enrolled into an Islamic seminary in UK where he studied the secular and Alimiyyah sciences. He then travelled to Karachi, Pakistan.

He has been an Imam in Rep of Ireland for a number of years. He has taught hifz of the Qur’an, Tajwid, Fiqh and many other Islamic sciences to both children and adults onsite and online extensively in UK and Ireland. He was teaching at a local Islamic seminary for 12 years in the UK where he was a librarian and a teacher of Islamic sciences.

He currently resides in UK with his wife. His personal interest is love of books and gardening.