Knowledge

What Actions During a Prayer Nullify it?

Answered by Shaykh Yusuf Badat  

Question:

Does looking at a dog during formal prayer invalidate my salah?

Answer:

In the Name of God, Most Merciful, Most Kind.

Thank you / Jazak Allah Khayr for contact Mathabah with your question.

Seeing a dog during salah (ritual prayer) does not invalidate the prayer. For your convenience, please see list below of the things that would actualy nullify the formal prayer:

  1. To deliberately break the wudu (ritual ablution).
  2. To break the wudu and then not rejoin the prayer through binaʿ with all its conditions.
  3. To speak deliberately or forgetfully.
  4. To articulate something that resembles human speech or similar to speech, such as saying “aah”, “oh” or “uff”.
  5. Blowing to the extent where a sound is heard.
  6. To cough or clear the throat unnecessarily.
  7. To cry or express agony for something not connected to the prayer or it’s recitation.
  8. To reply to someone sneezing, greeting or speaking.
  9. To accept a correction in recitation from someone who is not in the prayer or is offering another prayer.
  10. To make a grave error in recitation of the Quran.
  11. To recite the Quran by looking into the Quran (according to Hanafi position).
  12. To laugh aloud during salah.
  13. To turn the chest away from the Qibla (prayer direction).
  14. The body area that is to be covered is exposed.
  15. Excessive movement that is not considered an action of the prayer, without necessity.
  16. A non-mahram woman standing next to a man joined in the very same ritual prayer.
  17. Eating or drinking.

(Source: Al-Badaiʾ Al-Sanaiʾ)

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