[Q 330] Can a New Muslim Pray in Another Language?

Question

A person is a new Muslim and does not yet know how to pray. To perform Salah, can he wear hands-free headphones during the prayer and repeat what he hears in the headphones?

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

الجواب بعون الملك الوهاب اللهم هداية الحق والصواب

Answer

It is not permissible for a person who just became Muslim to perform prayer in the manner described in the question. Neither will such a prayer be valid, because if he listens to the Qur’an through the hands-free device and imitates it, it is as if he is learning the Quran and then reciting it within the prayer.

The act of learning within prayer, be it from a human or an inanimate source, invalidates the prayer.

It is for this reason that the Jurists have declared that within the prayer, were a person to read off of the Mihrab or the Qur’an, it will invalidate his prayer.

Further Clarification

Within prayer, recitation of the Qur’an is Fard (obligatory), and that is specifically in Arabic.

Were a person to recite in another language without a valid Islamic reason, his prayer will not be valid.

However, if a person cannot recite in Arabic (for example, a new Muslim), it is obligatory for him, as long as he is unable to recite correctly himself, to pray behind someone who is able to recite correctly. In the case of being able to pray behind such a person, if he, nonetheless, prays on his own, his prayer will not be valid.

However, if he is unable to pray behind such a person, then he may pray on his own, reciting the Quran in any language that is easy for him to recite in. This prayer will be valid.

Bear in mind though that the validity of this prayer is not because reciting the Quran in another language is actually considered recitation of the Quran, rather the prayer is valid because this person is currently an Ummi (i.e. illiterate) and thus not obligated to recite the Quran in Arabic yet. Instead, in place of Quranic recitation, he may utter any Dhikr (words of Divine Remembrance) and it will suffice.

Note: It must be clear that this concession is not permanent; he must strive day and night to memorize ”ماتجوز به الصلوۃ“, i.e. what is enough to render his prayer valid.

The bare minimum is one verse, which is not difficult. With effort, a verse can be memorized quickly.

He is then to continue on to memorizing Surah Fatihah, any Surah or three verses, and Tashahhud (Attahiyyat). Then, he is to memorize other Dhikr expressions of prayer, such as the glorification that is recited in Ruku and Sujud (Tasbih), Salawat (sending peace and blessings upon the Messenger of Allah ﷺ), and a Dua (which concludes the prayer).

During prayer, reading from the Qur’an invalidates the prayer, as stated in “Tanwir al-Absar” with “al-Durr al-Mukhtar”:

(و قرآءته من مصحف) أی: ما فیه قرآن (مطلقاً) لأنه تعلم

(Tanwir al-Absar with al-Durr al-Mukhtar, Book of Salah, page 85, Dar al-Kutub al-Ilmiyyah)

In “Halabat al-Mujalli,” it states:

”أنه یلقن من المصحف أو من المحراب، فیکون معلماً منه، فصار کما لو تعلم ممن لیس معه فی الصلاۃ۔“

(Halabat al-Mujalli fi Sharh Munyat al-Musalli, Book of Salah, Vol. 2, Pg. 418, Dar al-Kutub al-Ilmiyyah, Beirut)

Taking correction in recitation from someone outside the prayer also invalidates the prayer, as stated in “Radd al-Muhtar”:

ولو سمعه المؤتم ممن لیس فی الصلاۃ ففتح به علی إمامه یجب أن تبطل صلاۃ الکل؛ لأنه التلقین من خارج۔۔۔۔و وجھه أن الموتم لما تلقن من الخارج بطلت صلاته فإذا فتح علی إمامه وأخذ منه بطلت صلاته۔

(Radd al-Muhtar ala al-Durr al-Mukhtar, Vol. 1, Pg. 622, Dar al-Fikr, Beirut)

In “Halabi Saghir,” it states:

”وإذا أمکنه اقتدأہ بمن یحسنه لاتجوز صلاته منفردا۔“

(Halabi Saghir Sharh Munyat al-Musalli, Pg. 222, Dar al-Sa’adat)

It is stated in “Fatawa Ridawiyyah”:

“If a person tries his level best, but is still unable to pronounce the Arabic letter ح, then his ruling is the same as an Ummi person (i.e. illiterate). If he is able to pray behind someone who recites correctly, but does not, then his praying by himself is invalid.”

(Fatawa Ridawiyyah, Vol. 6, Pg. 255, Raza Foundation)

Except in cases of inability to recite Arabic, reciting in a language other than Arabic invalidates the prayer, as mentioned in “Al-Bahr al-Raiq” and “Tanwir al-Absar”:

واللفظ للاول-: ’’ لو قرأ بالفارسية حالة العجز عن العربية فإنه يصح وهذا بالاتفاق قيد بالعجز؛ لأنه لو كان قادرا فإنه لا يصح اتفاقا على الصحيح وكان أبو حنيفة أولا يقول بالصحة ۔۔۔۔۔ثم رجع عن هذا القول ووافقهما في عدم الجواز، وهو الحق

(Al-Bahr al-Raiq Sharh Kanz al-Daqa’iq, Vol. 5, Pg. 81, Dar al-Kitab al-Islami)

On the basis of a valid Islamic excuse, doing Dhikr (words of Divine Remembrance) in a language other than Arabic is permissible, as stated in “Fatawa Tatarkhaniyyah”:

على هذا الاختلاف لو سبح بالفارسية في الصلاة أو دعا أو أثنى على اللہ تعالى أو تعوذ أو هلل أو تشهد أو صلى على النبی صلى اللہ عليه وسلم بالفارسية في الصلاة

(Fatawa Tatarkhaniyyah, Vol. 1, Pg. 272, Dar al-Kutub al-Ilmiyyah, Beirut)

Imam Ahmad Rida Khan رحمه الله تعالى states:

“Recitation of the Qur’an is Fard and that is specifically in Arabic. It will not be valid in any other language. Such a prayer will be invalid. Besides this, it is also sinful. However, if there’s an actual inability, then that is a different matter.”

(Fatawa Ridawiyyah, Vol. 6, Pg. 323, Raza Foundation)

Sadr al-Shari’ah, Badr al-Tariqah, Mufti Muhammad Amjad Ali A’dhamiyy رحمه الله تعالى was asked: If an English person does not know Arabic, what is he to do?

He replied: “Reciting the translation in another language will not be valid because it does not fulfill the command of Allah. However, if someone is truly unable to recite Arabic, then he may recite in another language. This is not because what he recites is Qur’an, but rather because he is an Ummi (illiterate); recitation of the Quran is not obligatory upon him. Whatever Dhikr he does will suffice. If he recites the translation of the Qur’an, though it is not Qur’an, it conveys the meaning, so it will suffice for him.”

(Fatawa Amjadiyyah, Vol. 1, Pg. 96, Maktaba Razawiyyah)

Commentating on this issue, the great Faqih of Hind, Mufti Sharif al-Haq Amjadi رحمه الله تعالى, writes:

“The translation of the Qur’an is Dhikr. For a person who does not have any Qur’anic verse memorized, it is Fard for him to stand as long as it would take to fulfill the Fard recitation of prayer and Wajib for him to stand as long as it would take to fulfill the Wajib recitation of prayer. While he is standing, instead of remaining silent during this time, it is better that he engages in Dhikr. This Dhikr may be in the form of Tasbih (like saying SubhanAllah), Tahlil (like saying La ilaha illAllah), or any other form of Dhikr. In this particular case, if he recites the translation of the Qur’an, it is permissible. It is obligatory for such a person to strive day and night to memorize the Qur’an, and this is not difficult. If he gives it its due attention, within a few hours, he’ll be able to memorize ‘what is sufficient for prayer’.”

(Hashiyah Fatawa Amjadiyyah, Vol. 1, Pg. 97, Maktaba Razawiyyah)

Answered by: Mufti Sajid Attari

Translated answer

Date: 14th July 2024