Repeating Surah al-Fatiha in the Third Rakah of Fard Salah
بِسْمِ اللہِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيْمِ
Ruling of Repeating Sūrah al-Fātiḥah in the Third Rakʿah of Fard Salāh
Darulifta Ahlesunnat (Dawateislami)
Question
What do the noble scholars and jurists of Islamic law say about the following: Zaid was leading Maghrib salāh. In the third rakʿah he recited surah al-Fātiḥah two times by mistake and did not perform sajdah al-sahw at the end; he just completed his salāh as per usual. What is the ruling of the imām and muqtadī’s salāh?
Answer
In the described situation, the imām and muqtadī‘s salāh are valid. There is no need to repeat the salāh.
The detail regarding this issue is that if one mistakenly repeats the entire sūrah al-Fātiḥah or majority of sūrah al-Fātiḥah before reciting a sūrah in the first two rakʿāt of fard salāh or in any rakʿah of witr and nafl salāh, then sajdah al-sahw becomes wājib due to delaying a wājib (of adding a sūrah). However, reciting sūrah al-Fātiḥah and adding a sūrah in the last two rakʿāt of a fard salāh (i.e., the third rakʿah of Maghrib and the last two rakʿāt of Zuhr, ʿAsr and ʿIshāʾ) are not wājib. Hence, mistakenly repeating al-Fātiḥah in the last two rakʿāt does not cause delay in any wājib act; instead it is similar to repeating tasbīḥ and sanāʾ, which does not necessitate sajdah al-sahw. Therefore, since sajdah al-sahw is not wājib on the imām in the inquired situation, the salāh is valid.
Listing the wājib acts of salāh, ʿAllāmah ʿAlāuddin Ḥaskafī رحمة اللہ تعالى عليه (d. 1088 AH/1677 CE) writes:
و كذا ترك تكريرها قبل سورۃ
Translation: Similarly, (it is wājib) to not repeat sūrah al-Fātiḥah before reciting a sūrah. Under this, ʿAllāmah Ibn ʿĀbidīn Shāmī Dimishqī رحمة اللہ تعالى عليه (d. 1252 AH/1836 CE) writes regarding the obligation of sajdah al-sahw due to repeating sūrah al-Fātiḥah:
فلو قرأها في ركعة من الأوليين مرتين وجب سجود السهو لتأخير الواجب وهو السورة كما في الذخيرة و غيرها، و كذا لو قرأ أكثرها ثم أعادها كما في الظهيرية
Translation: If one recited sūrah al-Fātiḥah two times in the first two rakʿāt, sajdah al-sahw becomes wājib due to delaying the wājib of reciting a sūrah, as mentioned in al-Zakhīrah and other works. Similarly, if one recited the majority of sūrah al-Fātiḥah and then repeated it (sajdah al-sahw will become wājib), as written in al-Zahīriyah. (Radd al-Muḥtār Maʿa al-Durr al-Mukhtār, Vol. 02, p. 188, Publ. Quetta) It is stated in Bahār-E-Sharīʿat:
فرض کی پہلی دو رکعتوں میں اور نفل و وتر کی کسی رکعت میں سورۂ الحمد کی ایک آیت بھی رہ گئی یا سورت سے پیشتر دو بار الحمد پڑھی ۔ ۔ ۔ تو ان سب صورتوں میں سجدۂ سہو واجب ہے۔
Translation: If a single verse from sūrah al-Fātiḥah is skipped or al-Fātiḥah is repeated before reciting a sūrah in the first two rakʿāt of a fard salāh or any rakʿah of nafl and witr salāh… sajdah al-sahw is wājib in all of these cases. (Bahār-E-Sharīʿat, Vol. 01, pt. 04, p. 710, Publ. Maktaba-Tul-Madīnah, Karachi)
Repeating sūrah al-Fātiḥah in the third and fourth rakʿah of a fard salāh does not obligate sajdah al-sahw. It is stated in Munyah al-Musallī in the wājibāt of salāh:
منھا تعیین الفاتحۃ و تعیین القراءۃ فی الاولین و الاقتصار فیھما علی مرۃ
Translation: From the wājibāt of salāh is to recite sūrah al-Fātiḥah specifically and to recite it specifically in the first two rakʿāt. Also, (it is wājib) to recite sūrah al-Fātiḥah only once in the first two rakʿāt.
Commenting on this, it is stated in Ghunyah al-Mutamallī:
قيد بالأوليين؛ لأن الاقتصار على مرة واحدة في كل ركعة مما بعدهما ليس بواجب حتى لو كررها سهوا لا يجب سجود السهو؛ لأن ما بعد الأوليين لا يتعين فيه القراءة؛ بل إن شاء قرأ، وإن شاء سبح وإن شاء سكت، فتكرار الفاتحة حينئذ ملحق بالتسبيح والثناء، فلا يوجب سجود السهو على ما صرحو ا بہ
Translation: The ruling of reciting sūrah al-Fātiḥah has been limited to the first two rakʿāt because reciting it only once is not wājib in the later (third & fourth) rakʿāt. Even so that if one mistakenly repeated it (in the later rakʿāt), sajdah al-sahw is not wājib. This is because there is no specific recitation for the later rakʿāt. Rather, one can recite the Qurʾān if he wants, he can recite tasbīḥāt if he wants, or he can remain silent if he wants. Hence, the repetition of al-Fātiḥah at that time is like repeating tasbīḥ and sanāʾ, and it will not obligate sajdah al-sahw, as mentioned explicitly by the scholars. (Ghunyah al-Mutamallī Maʿa Munyah al-Musallī, Vol. 02, p. 134, Publ. India)
It is stated in al-Jawharah al-Nayyirah:
لو قراء الفاتحۃ فی الاخرین مرتین لا سھو علیہ
Translation: If one recites al-Fātiḥah twice in the latter two rakʿāt, sajdah al-sahw is not wājib on him. (Al-Jawharah al-Nayyirah, Vol. 01, p. 92, Publ. Multan) It is stated in Bahār-E-Sharīʿat:
فرض کی پچھلی رکعتوں میں فاتحہ کی تکرار سے مطلقاً سجدۂ سہو واجب نہیں۔
Translation: Repeating sūrah al-Fātiḥah in the last two rakʿāt of fard salāh does not obligate sajdah al-sahw at all. (Bahār-E-Sharīʿat, Vol. 01, pt. 04, p. 711, Publ. Maktaba-Tul-Madīnah, Karachi)
وَاللہُ اَعْلَمُ عَزَّوَجَلَّ وَ رَسُوْلُہ اَعْلَم صَلَّی اللہُ تَعَالٰی عَلَیْہِ وَاٰلِہٖ وَ سَلَّم
(Allah Almighty knows best and His Messenger صَلَّی اللہُ عَلَیْہِ وَ اٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم knows best.)
Answered By: Mufti Muhammad Qasim Attari
Ref No: FSD-9887
Date: 12th Shawwāl al-Mukarram 1447 AH / 01st April 2026