Question: What types of errors are made in the recitation of the Qur’an al-karim during salat?
ANSWER
Errors occur in four different areas:
1. The first type of error involves i’raab. That is, it takes place in vowel points (harakaat) or signs of quiescence (sukoon), e.g., not doubling the letter having the shadda (germination mark) or shortening a letter that should be prolonged, and vice versa. For example, if one, while reciting Surat al-Kafirun, says “lakum dinikum” instead of “lakum dinukum,” it will not invalidate one’s salat. This is termed erring in i’raab. Changing a fathah to a kasrah, or a kasrah to a fathah or a dammah does not invalidate salat, either. For example, if one says by mistake “dinikum” or “dinakum” in place of “dinukum,” one’s salat will be valid.

[Later scholars looked for rukhsa (dispensation) so that the salats of non-Arab Muslims would not become invalid due to misrecitation, and they issued the fatwa that erring in i’raab would not invalidate their salats. Allahu ta’ala does not burden anyone beyond his capability. There is facilitation for a stutterer and a lisper, too.]

2. The second type of error takes place in the letters themselves by changing the place of a letter or by adding a letter or by deducting a letter or by moving a letter forward or backward. [This type of error invalidates salat if it causes a change in the meaning.]

3. The third type of error involves reciting words and sentences wrongly. [Salat becomes invalid if this type of error causes a change in the meaning.]

4. The fourth type of error concerns waqf and wasl. That is, it takes place when one goes on recitation in a place where one must pause or pauses in a place where one must go on. Such errors do not nullify salat.

Some examples on these four types of errors:

1. When reciting “innallaha baree’un min-al-mushrikeena wa rasooluhu”, if one says “rasoolihi” in place of “rasooluhu,” it does not invalidate one’s salat. This verse means “Allah and His Messenger are free from the polytheists.” However, the meaning of it changes to “Allah is free from the polytheists and from His Messenger” when one says “rasoolihi” instead of “rasooluhu.”

2. When reciting “wa anta khayr-ul-munzileena”, if one pronounces the last word as “munzaleena,” it does not render one’s salat invalid.

3. Saying “khalaqana” instead of the word khalaqna that appears in nahnu khalaqna does not invalidate salat.

4. It does not invalidate salat to say “rabbahu” in place of the word rabbuhu that appears in wa i-dhib-talaa Ibraheema rabbuhu.

5. Saying “atta” in place of the word hatta does not invalidate salat. Saying “Sami’allahu limal hamidah” in place of Sami’allahu liman hamidah does not invalidate salat, either.

6. Reciting “iyaka na’budu” in place of iyyaaka na’budu does not render salat invalid, even though the misrecitation alters the meaning. (Halabi)

7. Reciting “ihdinal-sirata” instead of ihdinas-sirata does not invalidate salat.

8. Saying “rab-il-aalameen” instead of rabb-il-aalameen does not invalidate salat. Nor does saying “yaa Maali” instead of “yaa Maalik.”

9. Substituting ﻁ or ﺩ for the first t (ﺕ) in the phrase at-tahiyyaatu does not nullify salat even though it changes the meaning. Ad-dahiyyatu means sacrifices.

10. Substituting ﺱ for ﺹ in the phrase Allahumma salli invalidates salat according to some scholars while it does not according to the others. It is better to be on the safe side in the recitation of such phrases.

11. Pronouncing the letter ﻕ like ﻙ or the letter ﻙ like ﻕ does not nullify salat. Nor does pronouncing the letter ﺱ like ﺹ or ﺹ like ﺱ. The articulation places of ﺱ and ﺹ are the same. Pronouncing ﺱ in place of ﺹ or ﺹ in place of ﺱ, which is a commonly committed mistake, does not nullify salat. For example, if one, when reciting “idhaa jaa-a nasrullahi,” substitutes ﺱ for ﺹ or if one, when reciting “Allahus-samad”, substitutes ﺱ for ﺹ, it will not nullify one’s salat.

12. Salat becomes invalid if one makes the following errors in letters: Pronouncing the letter ﻆ in place of ﺫ or the letter ﻆ in place ofﺽ nullifies salat. Besides, it is not permissible to pronounce ﻆ in such a way that it sounds like ﺫ. Saying ﺖ in place of ﺩ (ahat instead of ahad) when reciting Qul huwallahu ahad invalidates salat. (Halabi)

13. If one, when reciting Surat al-Fatiha, says “iyya kana’budu” instead of “iyyaka na’budu,” it does not invalidate one’s salat. But it is better to be careful about this as there are also scholars saying that it invalidates salat.

14. Suppose that the recitation of a person is incorrect according to nine different scholars but correct according to only one scholar. Even in this scenario, it cannot be said that the salat of this person is invalid. (Targhib-us-salat)

15. There are scholars who say that the incorrect recitation of those Muslims who do not know Arabic or tajweed rules will not invalidate their salats because they cannot pronounce the letters from their exact points of articulation. According to these scholars, the salats of those who are not able to articulate these letters despite constant practice will be considered valid. It is not compulsory to recite surahs according to tajweed rules. If letters are pronounced from their articulation points, recitation will be correct.

16. If the vocative yaa is prefixed to the word Rasulullah, it changes the word to Rasulallah. If it is prefixed to the word Abdullah, it changes the word to Abdallah. The phrase Muhammadun rasulullah is recited Muhammad-ur-rasulullah according to the rule of tajweed. However, one’s salat will still be valid when one recites it as Muhammadun rasulullah or Muhammadar rasulullah.

17. If a person who cannot pronounce letters correctly despite his efforts recites in such a manner that the meaning is changed to a corrupt meaning that causes disbelief (kufr), he does not become a disbeliever (kafir). A Muslim performing salat cannot be labeled as a disbeliever because of something he did by mistake. There are scholars who say that the salats of such people are valid. If a person forgets the fact that he is not in a state of wudu’ and performs salat without wudu’, his salat is valid unless he remembers that he was not in a state of wudu’. He does not fall into disbelief because of it. However, if one deliberately performs salat without wudu’ to make fun of salat, it will cause disbelief, which a Muslim can in no way do.

Question: It is written in Se’adet-i Ebediyye, “If the letter z in the word azeem that is a part of the ruku’ tasbihaat [Subhana rabbiyal azeem] is pronounced with the letter ﻆ, it means “My Rabb is great.” If it is pronounced with the letter ﺯ, it means “My Rabb is my enemy.” If one does not know the correct pronunciation and says it wrongly, will one fall into disbelief and become a disbeliever?
ANSWER
No, one will not fall into disbelief because one does not do it deliberately. Can a person who performs salat for the sake of Allahu ta’ala be called a disbeliever?

Once, a man lost in a desert his camel on which there were his provisions of water and food. Afterwards, he realized that he would die of hunger and thirst, and he dropped off under a tree. When he woke up, he found that his camel was before him. He, out of joy and astonishment, committed a slip of the tongue, saying, “O my Lord! You are my servant, and I am Your Lord. Praise be to You that my camel has come.” Our master the Prophet related this event with a smile. Such mistakes do not cause one to become a disbeliever. A scholar says:

“If a disciple of mine, while bringing a glass of water to me, stumbles and falls down and the glass smashes to pieces, will I get angry with him or pity him? The mistakes one does while serving are overlooked. Similarly, the mistakes one commits while doing ibadah to Allahu ta’ala are forgiven, too.”

In conclusion, if one unintentionally makes a mistake in acts of worship, it will not cause disbelief. A hadith-i sharif says:
(An angel who is appointed for the Qur’an corrects the mistakes of a person who recites wrongly because he is not an Arab, and he raises his recitation as if it were recited correctly.) [Shirazi]

Question: If one repeats the same word in salat, does it invalidate one’s salat?
ANSWER
If one makes a mistake in recitation, one should repeat that part to correct it. Repetition does not invalidate salat.

Question: Some people say, “If one makes an error while reciting something sunnat, it does not invalidate salat.” Is what they say true? For example, if we recite “Subhana rabbiyal azeem” in such a way that the meaning is altered to a different one, will our salats become invalid?
ANSWER
Making an error in the recitation of something sunnat may invalidate salat, too. For example, in the Arabic alphabet there are three distinct z’s with different pronunciations. The first one is ﻆ. The second one is ﺯ, and the third one is ﺫ. Each of these is pronounced differently. The word azeem that appears in the phrase recited during ruku’ is pronounced with the letter ﻆ, which means “My Rabb is great.” But if it is pronounced with ﺯ, then it means “My Rabb is my enemy,” which causes salat to become invalid. (Radd-ul-mukhtar)

Question: I have heard that an error in the recitation of Surat al-Kafirun causes one to fall into disbelief. Does it cause disbelief, too, if the error is made simply because one does not know the correct recitation or out of a slip of the tongue?
ANSWER
If one, out of a slip of the tongue or not knowing the correct recitation, recites an ayah in such a manner that produces a meaning causing disbelief, one will not fall into disbelief. Erring is an excuse.

Question: If one makes an error in recitation that produces a meaning causing disbelief, will one’s salat become invalid even if one corrects the error by repeating that part?
ANSWER
No, one’s salat will not become invalid. He should repeat that part correctly and go on the salat.

Question: Does the joining of letters from two separate words invalidate salat?
ANSWER
It depends on the letters joined.

Dividing a word and joining the division to the second word, e.g., reciting iyya kana’budu instead of iyyaka na’budu, invalidates salat according to a qawl. (Se’adet-i Ebediyye)