What Is the Minimal Valid Prayer I Could Pray If I Wake Up Very Late for Fajr?
Hanafi Fiqh
Answered by Mawlana Ilyas Patel
Question
If one had to pray a minimal prayer, such as when waking up very late for Fajr and was reciting only one aya per rak‘a, would it suffice to recite the basmala as that one aya, or must it be a non-basmala aya?
Answer
In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate
I pray you are in good faith and health. Thank you for your question.
Yes, if you recited “Bismillah-ir-Rahman-ir-Rahim” as a verse of the Quran in the above case, it will suffice to have fulfilled the obligation.
Obligatory (fard) Recitation in Prayer
The obligatory recitation that is a condition for the validity of prayer is simply to recite one verse in two rak‘as of the obligatory prayer. If this is done, one’s prayer is valid.
Recitation of the Quran, even if it’s just one verse, during any two rak‘as of the obligatory prayer and in all rak‘as of witr and voluntary prayers, unless you are a follower in congregation, since there is no recitation of the Quran.
That must consist of at least two words, such as “thumma nadhar” (Then he looked) [Quran, 74:21], to fulfill the obligatory (fard) requirement.
[Shurunbulali, Maraqi al-Falah]
Necessary (wajib) Element of the Prayer
The necessary (wajib) element of the prayer is recitation of the entire opening chapter(sura) of the Quran (al-Fatiha) if one does not fear expiry of the prescribed time for Fajr. If one fears this, only the obligatory recitation of one verse of the Quran is performed, and one seeks to complete the prayer before sunrise.
The necessary (wajib) is necessary – its consequence of omission does not invalidate the prayer; however, it is necessary to repeat the prayer both during and after the prescribed prayer has expired if:
- The omission was forgetful, and the prostration of forgetfulness (sajdat al-sahw) was not performed;
- The omission was deliberate
[‘Ala’ al-Din ‘Abidin, al-Hadiyya al-‘Ala’iyya]
Is Basmala Part of the Quran?
The Hanafi scholars hold the opinion that, except in Surat al-Naml, “Bismillah-ir-Rahman-ir-Rahim” is not considered a part of any Sura, but rather it is a separate and independent verse of the Quran. It was revealed to serve as a separator and distinguisher between the two suras.
The soundest position in the Hanafi School is that it is a verse revealed once and assigned as a separator between suras, and by which to seek blessings (baraka).
[‘Ayni, al-Binaya Sharh al-Hidaya; Ibn ‘Abidin, Radd al-Muhtar; Abu Su‘ud, Irshad al-‘Aql al-Salim]
Why not begin your search for knowledge by signing up for a course on SeekersAcademy (seekersguidance.org), like from the Islamic Studies Curriculum (seekersguidance.org), and build your way up, doing each course?
Related
I pray this helps with your question.
Wassalam,
[Mawlana] Ilyas Patel
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
Mawlana Ilyas Patel has received a traditional education in various countries. He started his schooling in the UK and completed his hifz of the Quran in India. After that, he joined an Islamic seminary in the UK, where he studied secular and Aalimiyya sciences. Later, he traveled to Karachi, Pakistan, and other Middle Eastern countries to further his education. Mawlana has served as an Imam in the Republic of Ireland for several years and taught the Quran and other Islamic sciences to both children and adults. He also worked as a teacher and librarian at a local Islamic seminary in the UK for 12 years. Presently, he lives in the UK with his wife and is interested in books and gardening.
