Imaam not pronouncing letters correctly
Question:-
Will the Salaah have to be repeated if the Imaam doesn’t pronounce letters from their proper Makhaarij (articulation points)? Similar letters are difficult to differentiate in the Imaam’s recitation (as it sounds the same, almost every time).
So, for example, the Imaam struggles to differentiate between these letters:
ث, ص, س
ت , ط
ح, ه
If the loud Salaah is invalid behind the Imaam, then what about silent Salaah?
Answer:-
An effort should be made to pronounce every letter of the Quraan Sharif from its proper Makhraj. However, if the Imaam recites one letter in place of another and changes the meaning, then Salaah will be Faasid (corrupt/invalid) if it is possible to distinctly make out the difference between the two letters without any difficulty. However, if the difference is made out after difficulty such as the difference between ‘Zhaa’ and ‘Dhaad’ or ‘Saad’ and ‘Seen’ or ‘Thaa’ and ‘Taa’, then majority of the scholars are of the view that Salaah will not be Faasid.
Some scholars have mentioned that, if one intentionally recites one letter in place of another, then Salaah will be Faasid. However, if the word is naturally pronounced on the tongue in this manner and he doesn’t recognize the difference between the two, then Salaah will not be Faasid or invalid. This is the preferred and most moderate view in the Madhab.
Based on the above explanation, Salaah will not be invalid. However, the Imaam should make an effort to correct his recitation and pronounce the letters from its correct Makhaarij.
قَالَ فِي الْخَانِيَّةِ وَالْخُلَاصَةِ: الْأَصْلُ فِيمَا إذَا ذَكَرَ حَرْفًا مَكَانَ حَرْفٍ وَغَيَّرَ الْمَعْنَى إنْ أَمْكَنَ الْفَصْلُ بَيْنَهُمَا بِلَا مَشَقَّةٍ تَفْسُدُ، وَإِلَّا يُمْكِنْ إلَّا بِمَشَقَّةٍ كَالظَّاءِ مَعَ الضَّادِ الْمُعْجَمَتَيْنِ وَالصَّادِ مَعَ السِّينِ الْمُهْمَلَتَيْنِ وَالطَّاءِ مَعَ التَّاءِ قَالَ أَكْثَرُهُمْ لَا تَفْسُدُ. اهـ. وَفِي خِزَانَةِ الْأَكْمَلِ قَالَ الْقَاضِي أَبُو عَاصِمٍ: إنْ تَعَمَّدَ ذَلِكَ تَفْسُدُ، وَإِنْ جَرَى عَلَى لِسَانِهِ أَوْ لَا يَعْرِفُ التَّمْيِيزَ لَا تَفْسُدُ، وَهُوَ الْمُخْتَارُ حِلْيَةٌ وَفِي الْبَزَّازِيَّةِ: وَهُوَ أَعْدَلُ الْأَقَاوِيلِ، وَهُوَ الْمُخْتَارُ (رد المحتار ص633 ج1)
ALLAH TA’ALA KNOWS BEST!
ANSWERED BY:
Mufti Mohammed Desai
Date: 06 Rajab 1444 / 28 January 2023