Is It Valid To Follow a Prayer on YouTube?
Answered by Ustadha Shazia Ahmad
Question
Does the use of salah videos from YouTube to perform salah count? My husband converted to Islam over four years ago but still has not made it a priority to learn how to pray on his own or to memorize the short surahs. He uses videos from YouTube to perform each salah. Is this permissible?
Answer
Assalamu alaykum,
Thank you for your question. May Allah reward you for your sincerity and for worrying about your husband’s religion. Be sure to use wisdom and tact in helping him.
Prayer
It is not permissible to do what you have described in your question, and his prayers would be invalid. He must make an effort to learn to read the Fatiha and the supplication of tashahhud to begin with. Later on, he can add on short surahs. He can even memorize using English letters.
Encourage
Be wary of scaring him off or making him rebel against the religion. Instead, try to inspire him and find indirect ways to get your message across. Be soft and polite, and try to bring around like-minded pious families to spend time with both of you. Encourage him to take free classes here at SeekersGuidance, where he can learn all of his personally obligatory knowledge without shame, and take the course with him. You will certainly benefit by the grace of Allah.
Please see these links as well:
https://seekersguidance.org/answers/general-counsel/practice/
https://seekersguidance.org/answers/general-counsel/how-to-deal-with-a-husband-who-doesnt-practice/
https://seekersguidance.org/answers/general-counsel/how-should-i-advise-my-husband-to-leave-sin/
May Allah give you the best of this world and the next.
[Ustadha] Shazia Ahmad
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
Ustadha Shazia Ahmad lived in Damascus, Syria, for two years, where she studied aqidah, fiqh, tajweed, tafseer, and Arabic. She then attended the University of Texas at Austin, where she completed her master’s in Arabic. Afterward, she moved to Amman, Jordan, where she studied fiqh, Arabic, and other sciences. She recently moved back to Mississauga, Canada, where she lives with her family.
