[Q 682] Mistake in Quran Recitation During Salah

Question

If an imam is leading Fajr and, in the first rak’ah, intends to recite the ayah:

وَلَا تَقُولُوا لِمَنْ يُقْتَلُ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ

but by mistake recites:

لَا يَقُولُوا لِمَنْ يُقْتَلُ

(i.e. omits the و from وَلَا and reads يَقُولُوا instead of تَقُولُوا), then he realises this mistake and in the second rak’ah, he re-recites the same ayah but correctly this time, and then continues with the following verses.

In this situation, is the salah valid for the imam and the muqtadis? Does reciting the ayah correctly in the second rak’ah rectify the mistake, or what is the ruling?

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
الجواب بعون الملك الوهاب اللهم هداية الحق والصواب

Answer

“وَلَا تَقُولُوا”
is a verb of prohibition (فعل نہی) and is in the plural second-person form (جمع مخاطب کا صیغہ). This means that it is being prohibited as a command in a direct address style, that “you (plural) should not say this.” And “لَا يَقُولُوا” is also a verb of prohibition (فعل نہی), but it is in the plural third-person form (جمع غائب کا صیغہ). And now its meaning would be to prohibit absent people from saying this.

From this perspective, the meaning is not corrupted, and the salah will not be invalidated, and the salah has been performed correctly.

It should be remembered that if a mistake is made in the ayah and then corrected in the same rak’at, then that mistake will be rectified. And if the correction is not made in that same rak’at, then that mistake becomes firm. And if the meaning is corrupted, then the salah will be invalidated. And if the meaning is not corrupted, then the salah will be correct in any case, as the ruling has been stated in the aforementioned issue.

Answered by: Mubashir Madani (AskMufti Scholar)
Verified by: Mufti Sajid Attari
Translated answer
Date: 24th July 2026