Imamate of One Who Recites Incorrectly: Mistakes in Vowels and Alif

Question

If during the prayer the imam makes mistakes of this kind in recitation: instead of a kasra he reads a fatha; or where there is an alif he does not read the alif; or he breaks his breath in the middle of a word so that the word is cut; for example, he reads the kasra of the letter ya’ in مَيِّت as a fatha; or in في دين الله he does not read the alif; or in ابائنا he does not read the alif but reads ابائن — will the prayer be valid with mistakes of this kind or not?

Answer

Through these mistakes in these places the prayer did not become fasid (invalid), but karaha (dislikedness) did arise. This, however, is not the ruling for a mistake in every place; rather, in some places such a mistake will render the prayer fasid, because the invalidation of the prayer turns on the corruption of the meaning.

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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