Did Imam Abu Hanifa Allow Persian in Salah?
بِسْمِ اللہِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيْمِ
Did Imām Aʿzam Abū Ḥanīfah use to perform his Salāh in Persian?
Darulifta Ahlesunnat (Dawateislami)
Question
What do the noble scholars and jurists of Islamic law say about the following: I have heard that Imām Aʿzam Abū Ḥanīfah رحمة اللہ تعالى عليه would perform his salah in the Persian language. Is this true?
Answer
You heard incorrectly. The reality is: there was a narration that Imām Aʿzam Abū Ḥanīfah رحمة اللہ عليه permitted qirāʾah in the Persian language during salāh. The detail of this was that Imām Aʿzam’s رحمة اللہ عليه stance was that qirāʾah in the Persian language is permitted in salah, regardless of whether one knows how to recite in Arabic. On the other hand, both of his students, Imam Abū Yūsuf and Imām Muḥammad رحمة اللہ تعالى عليهما, had the stance that if one is unable to recite in Arabic, only then are they permitted to recite in Persian, otherwise not. This is the Muftā Bih opinion (opinion according to which the fatwa is issued). But later, Imām Aʿzam Abū Ḥanīfah رحمة اللہ تعالى عليه himself retracted his earlier stance and adopted the stance of Saḥibayn رحمة اللہ عليهما.
It is stated in Tabyīn al-Ḥaqāʾiq Sharh Kanz al-Daqāʾiq:
و أما القراءة بالفارسية فجائزة في قول أبي حنيفة و قال أبو يوسف و محمد لا تجوز إذا كان يحسن العربية؛۔۔۔ و يروى رجوعه إلى قولهما و عليه الاعتماد
(Tabyīn al-Ḥaqāʾiq, Vol. 01, p. 110-111, Publ. Cairo)
It is stated in Tanwīr al-Absār Maʿa al-Durr al-Mukhtār:
(قرء بھا عاجزا) فجائز اجماعاً ، قید القراءۃ بالعجز لان الأصح رجوعہ الی قولھما و علیہ الفتوی
(Tanwīr al-Absār Maʿa al-Durr al-Mukhtār, Vol. 02, p. 224, Publ. Dār al-Maʿrifah, Beirut)
According to the Muftā Bih opinion of Saḥibayn, it is necessary to recite in Arabic during salāh. If there is no inability, the salāh will not be valid if qirāʾah is done in other than Arabic. Thus, Aʿlā Ḥazrat Imām Aḥmad Razā Khān عليه رحمة الرحمن states in Fatāwā Razawiyah:
قراءتِ قرآن فرض ہے اور وہ خاص عربی ہے غیر عربی میں ادا نہ ہوگی اور نماز نادرست ہوگی اور اِس کے ماورا (یعنی تلاوت کے علاوہ تکبیر تحریمہ و دیگر اذکار نماز غیر عربی میں پڑھنے کی صورت) میں گنہگاری ہے، ہاں جو عاجز محض ہو، تو مجبوری کی بات جُدا ہے۔
Translation: Recitation of the Qurʾān is fard, and it is specifically in Arabic. It will not be fulfilled by reciting in other than Arabic. And other than this (i.e., recitation, such as saying Takbīr Taḥrīmah and other azkār of salāh in other than Arabic), one will be sinful. However, the one who is totally incapable is a separate case. (Fatāwā Razawiyah, Vol. 06, p. 323, Publ. Razā Foundation, Lahore)
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: FAM-965
Date: 06th Jumād al-ʾUlāʾ 1447 AH / 29th October 2025