Salat - The Muslim Prayer Book — Page 79
S al a t —The Muslim Prayer Book 79 repeated in every Rak‘at. 6. Recitation of S u rah Al-F a ti h ah : The recitation of S u rah Al-F a ti h ah is also essential in every Rak‘at. When the Im a m is leading the congregation, the loud recitation of S u rah Al-F a ti h ah is compulsory in the first two Rak‘ a t of the following Prayers: a. Fajr Prayer, which comprises two Rak‘ a t. b. Maghrib Prayer, which comprises three Rak‘ a t. c. ‘Ish a’ Prayer, which comprises four Rak‘ a t. Note: If the recitation of some portion of the Holy Quran is not done in the first two Rak‘ a t , the Rak‘ a t will not be invalidated, but on remembering this mistake, the two Suj u d-us-Sahv become essential to validate the Prayer. If the Im a m forgets to recite S u rah Al-F a ti h ah aloud and also the additional verses of the Holy Quran in any Rak‘at , and he is reminded of this before he goes to the Bowing position, he should complete this function by reciting S u rah Al-F a ti h ah as well as the verses of the Holy Quran and then go into Ruk u‘. In this case no prostrations of condonement are necessary. However, if he has led the congregation into Ruk u‘ and then remembers his mistake, the repetition of the function, i. e. the recitation of S u rah Al-F a ti h ah and the verses of the Holy Quran, is not needed. Only two Prostrations of condonement are enough to make the Prayer valid. W A JIB A T (ESSENTIALS) OF THE S AL A T The W a jib a t (essential or necessary parts) is the second category. These are the parts which, if left out wilfully, will invalidate the Prayer, but if forgotten