Wed 15 رمضان 1447 (04 Mar 2026)
The Ruling on One Who Gives Salām Before Completing the Prayer—Should He Repeat or Build Upon What He Prayed?
Mufti:
Alsayyed Muhammad b. Abdallah Awad Al-Muayyady
Fatwa number: 16315
Number of views: 14
The Ruling on One Who Gives Salām Before Completing the Prayer—Should He Repeat or Build Upon What He Prayed?
Fatwa number: 16315
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Question: What do you say about someone who forgot one rakʿah of Ẓuhr and gave salām after three? We do not see the strength of the school’s view that he must repeat the prayer in light of the famous ḥadīth of Dhu ’l-Yadayn—that the Prophet (May Allah bless him and his family and grant them peace) gave salām after one rakʿah of Fajr and then added another—narrated in Amālī Aḥmad ibn ʿĪsā. It is in my mind that its chain is sound; and some of our scholars said that grammarians and rhetoricians have adduced it as evidence for the expression, “kullu dhālika lam yakun” (“none of that took place”).
And the reply of some of our Imams is that the report is mudṭarib (variant), for it is narrated concerning Fajr and concerning other prayers. Yet we do not see how this weakens it, since such variation would impugn many reports—like the ḥadīths about the abrogation of mutʿah, whose occasions were multiple, as mentioned in the gloss on at-Tāj and elsewhere. Please clarify for us what you deem preponderant and its proof?
Answer: I uphold the wording of the school on this. The ḥadīth of Dhu ’l-Yadayn, even if sound, is abrogated. The evidence for its abrogation is what Zayd ibn ʿAlī narrated in al-Majmūʿ from ʿAlī (peace be upon him):
The Messenger of Allah (May Allah bless him and his family and grant them peace) returned during the first ʿumrah he performed. A man came to him and offered salām while he was in prayer, and he did not return it. When he completed the prayer and turned away he said, “Where is the one who offered salām a short while ago? I was in prayer, and Gabriel (peace be upon him) came to me and said: Indeed it has been prohibited for my community to return salām while in prayer.” End.
This report is also narrated outside al-Majmūʿ with the wording that he (may Allah bless him and his family and grant them peace) said to the one who greeted him: “Indeed Allah introduces in His command whatever He wills; and He has now introduced that you are not to speak in the prayer.”
The first ʿumrah the Prophet (May Allah bless him and his family and grant them peace) performed was al-Ḥudaybiyyah; the second was ʿUmrat al-Qaḍāʾ; the third al-Jiʿrānah; and the fourth with his Ḥajj. ʿUmrat al-Ḥudaybiyyah was in year six.
In sum, the ḥadīth we cited is authentic with the Zaydīs and with Ahl al-Sunnah, and it indicates that the prohibition of speaking in the prayer came after the incident of Dhu ’l-Yadayn, which had indicated the permissibility of speaking.
This is in addition to the caution and safety found in the school’s position.
There are further grounds for preference:
The report of Dhu ’l-Yadayn is a narration of an act, while its opponent is a statement; and the indication of statement is stronger and weightier.
That report indicates permissibility of speech, while the opposing evidence indicates its prohibition—another reason to prefer the latter.
The ḥadīth prohibiting speech is stronger and more widely known, with more narrators, and without disagreement—unlike the Dhu ’l-Yadayn report which, though sound, has differences, as you mentioned.
Yes: what we mentioned earlier shows that the prohibition of speech came after the incident of Dhu ’l-Yadayn, whether Dhu ’l-Yadayn is the same person as Dhu ’sh-Shimālayn or someone else, since Dhu ’sh-Shimālayn was killed at Badr.
This is what I incline to and deem strong. Praise belongs to Allah, Lord of the worlds.
Source : Min Thimār al-ʿIlm wa al-Ḥikmah vol.1
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