Is Salah Valid If a Verse Is Skipped During Recitation?
بِسْمِ اللہِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيْمِ
Ruling of Salāh if a Verse is Skipped During Recitation
Darulifta Ahlesunnat (Dawateislami)
Question
What do the noble scholars and jurists of Islamic law say about the following: Yesterday I recited Surah al-Kafirūn in the first rakʿah of ʿAsr salah. I recited the first three verses and then applied waqf. When continuing the recitation, I forgot the fourth verse وَ لَاۤ اَنَا عَابِدٌ مَّا عَبَدْتُّمْ and recited the next two verses and then performed rukuʿ. Then I completed the Salāh without performing sajdah sahw. My question is, is my Salāh valid, or is the Salāh wājib al-ʾiʿādah because of leaving sajdah sahw?
Answer
In the inquired situation, your Salāh is valid, and it is not necessary to repeat the Salāh.
The detail about this ruling is that skipping a verse during recitation may or may not invalidate the Salāh. The principle regarding this is that if waqf (a complete stop) is applied before the verse that was skipped, the Salāh is valid in this case, and it doesn’t affect the validity of the Salāh. However, if waqf was not applied and the meaning is corrupted, the Salāh will become invalid, otherwise not. In the inquired situation, because you applied waqf and you skipped the verse after, the Salāh is therefore valid.
The reason that the Salāh does not have to be repeated despite not performing sajdah sahw is that repeating a Salāh is only necessary when a wajib is skipped intentionally, the salāh is offered with Karāhah Taḥrīmī, or a wājib is forgetfully skipped, and sajdah sahw was not performed. But, in the situation described, there is no reason for the salāh to become wājib al-ʾiʿādah as skipping a verse does not cause sajdah sahw to become wājib. Therefore, since sajdah sahw was not even wājib, the salāh offered without performing it is also valid.
If a verse is skipped from the middle of the Sūrah, then when would the Salāh become invalid, and when would it not? Mentioning the principle regarding this, it is stated in Fatāwā ʿĀlamgīri:
لو ذكر آیة مكان آیة ان وقف وقفا تاما ثم ابتدا بآیة اخری او ببعض آیة لا تفسد۔ ۔ ۔ اما اذا لم یقف و وصل ان لم یغیر المعنی۔ ۔ ۔ لا تفسد اما اذا غیر المعنی۔۔۔تفسد عند عامة علمائنا وهو الصحیح
(Al-Fatāwā Al-ʿĀlamgīri , Vol. 01, p. 80-81, Publ. Quetta)
Mentioning some examples for this principle, it is stated in Bahār-e-Sharī’at:
ایک آیت کو دوسری کی جگہ پڑھا ، اگر پورا وقف کرچکا ہے، تو نماز فاسد نہ ہوئی، جیسے ﴿وَ الْعَصْرِ ﴿۱﴾ اِنَّ الْاِنْسَانَ﴾ پر وقف کر کے ﴿اِنَّ الْاَبْرَارَ لَفِیْ نَعِیْمٍ ﴿ۙ۲۲﴾﴾ پڑھا، یا ﴿اِنَّ الَّذِیْنَ اٰمَنُوْا وَ عَمِلُوا الصّٰلِحٰتِ﴾ پر وقف کیا، پھر پڑھا ﴿اُولٰٓئِکَ ہُمْ شَرُّ الْبَرِیَّۃِ ﴿۶﴾﴾ نماز ہوگئی اور اگر وقف نہ کیا، تو معنی متغیر ہونے کی صورت میں نماز فاسد ہوجائے گی، جیسے یہی مثال، ورنہ نہیں۔
Translation: If a verse was read in the place of another verse and waqf was applied, the salāh will not become invalid. For example, if one recited ﴿وَ الْعَصْرِ ﴿۱﴾ اِنَّ الْاِنْسَانَ﴾ and then after waqf, they recited ﴿اِنَّ الْاَبْرَارَ لَفِیْ نَعِیْمٍ﴿ۙ۲۲﴾﴾, or after ﴿اِنَّ الَّذِیْنَ اٰمَنُوْا وَ عَمِلُوا الصّٰلِحٰتِ﴾, they applied waqf and then recited ﴿اُولٰٓئِکَ ہُمْ شَرُّ الْبَرِیَّۃِ﴿۶﴾﴾, the salāh would be valid. However, if they did not apply waqf and the meaning is corrupted, the Salāh would become invalid, as in this example, otherwise not. (Bahār-e-Sharī’at, Vol. 01, pt. 03, p. 556, Publ. Maktaba-Tul-Madinah, Karachi)
If a verse is skipped from the middle of the sūrah, sajdah sahw does not become wājib, nor is it necessary to repeat, as Muftī Amjad ʿAlī Aʿzamī رحمة اللہ تعالى عليه (d. 1367 AH/ 1947 CE) was asked:
زید نماز پڑھا رہا تھا سورۃ فاتحہ پڑھ کر سورۃ یسین شروع کردی اور ”وَ خَشِیَ الرَّحْمٰنَ بِالْغَیْبِ“ پڑھ کر ”فَبَشِّرْهُ بِمَغْفِرَةٍ وَّ اَجْرٍ كَرِیْمٍ“ چھوڑدی اور ”اِنَّا نَحْنُ نُحْیِ الْمَوْتٰى“ سے شروع کردیا اور پھر سجدہ سہو بھی نہیں کیا اور نماز بھی نہیں دہرائی، تو کیا اس صورت میں نماز درست ادا ہوئی یا نہیں؟
Translation: Zaid was offering salāh. He recited Sūrah al-Fātiḥah and then started Sūrah Yā Sīn. He recited وَ خَشِیَ الرَّحْمٰنَ بِالْغَیْبِ, skipped فَبَشِّرْهُ بِمَغْفِرَةٍ وَّ اَجْرٍ كَرِیْمٍ and then started reciting اِنَّا نَحْنُ نُحْیِ الْمَوْتٰى. He didn’t even perform sajdah sahw, nor did he repeat his salāh. In this case, is the salāh valid or not?
To this, he رحمة اللہ تعالى عليه replied:
نماز صحیح ہے، اس صورت میں سجدہ سہو واجب نہ تھا۔
Translation: The salāh is valid. Sajdah sahw was not wājib in this case. (Fatāwā Amjadiyah, Vol. 01, p. 282-283, Publ. Maktabah Razawiyah, Karachi)
وَاللہُ اَعْلَمُ عَزَّوَجَلَّ وَ رَسُوْلُہ اَعْلَم صَلَّی اللہُ تَعَالٰی عَلَیْہِ وَاٰلِہٖ وَ سَلَّم
(Allah Almighty knows best and His Messenger صَلَّی اللہُ عَلَیْہِ وَ اٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم knows best.)
Answered By: Mufti Muhammad Qasim Attari
Ref No: FSD-9576
Date: 29th Rabīʿ al-Sānī 1447 AH / 23rd October 2025