Islamic Fiqh > Prayer > The Fatiha and recitation in prayer
Recitation of rak'as: the Fatiha obligation, loud or low voice, recitation behind the imam and pardoned omission.
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Updated on 06 October 2026 at 10:50 PM
The Fatiha is the heart of every rak'a. The majority of jurists (Malikis, Shafi'is, Hanbalis) make it a pillar: whoever leaves it while able has no valid prayer. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said:
There is no prayer for the one who does not recite the opening of the Book.
al-Bukhari 756, Muslim 394
Abu Hurayra repeated 3 times: whoever prays without reciting the Mother of the Book, his prayer is incomplete; to those who answered that we pray behind the imam, he advised reciting it in one's heart, recalling the Prophet's word.
Allah said: I have divided the prayer between Myself and My servant in 2 halves, and My servant will have what he asks. When he says: praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, Allah says: My servant has praised Me... When he says: You alone we worship and You alone we ask for help, Allah says: this is between Me and My servant. When he says: guide us on the straight path, Allah says: this is for My servant, and My servant will have what he asks.
Muslim 395
Ibn Qudama states he knows no scholar who denies the sunna of reciting a surah with the Fatiha in the first 2 rak'as of every prayer. Abu Qatada reports that the Prophet recited in the first 2 rak'as of dhuhr the Fatiha and 2 surahs, lengthening the first and shortening the second, and did the same for asr, while he lengthened the first rak'a of fajr (al-Bukhari 759, Muslim 451). In the last 2 rak'as, the recitation is limited to the Fatiha (reported by agreement).
The follower's recitation divides the schools: some jurists exempt the follower from reciting behind an imam reciting aloud, others ask him to recite the Fatiha during the moments of silence. Abu Hurayra's view quoted above guides the middle path: recite in your heart what the imam does not cover.
Learn the Fatiha with its correct pronunciation before any other text: without it, no prayer stands. Then keep a small repertoire of surahs for the first rak'as, and lengthen the first a little: that is the trace of the Prophet's practice.
Al-Hawi al-Kabir by al-Mawardi · Shafi'i school
Chapter: the least that suffices for the performance of prayer. Question: al-Shafi'i, may Allah be pleased with him, said: "The least that suffices for the performance of prayer is that one enter into sacralization (intention) and recite Umm al-Quran (the Fatiha), beginning with “Bismillah ar-Rahman ar-Rahim” if he recites it well, bow until at rest in the bowing, rise until standing upright, prostrate until at rest in prostration upon the forehead, then rise until sitting upright, then prostrate a second time as described, then stand and do the same in every rak'a, sit at the fourth, pronounce the tashahhud and pray upon the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), then conclude with one salutation, saying: "As-salamu alaykum". When he does that, his prayer suffices, and he has forfeited his share in what he left out."