Praying Wrong for a long time?

[Jalal~]

So i recently discovered that when i recite surah fatiha, i had confused one of the letters in the surah, so basically ive been reciting the surah incorrectly for my whole life. So do i have to make up my prayers for my whole life, or just repent a whole lot? or both? very stressed about the situation :(, so any input will be accepted. Jazkallah khair to all.

[Ami]

As far as I know it is your intention that matters, so that if you didnt realise you were saying it wrong it is ok because Allah knows what is in your heart when you pray but learn the right way now. I am not sure if I am right though.

[Jalal~]

Jazakallah khair sister, this really helps me out

[إحسان]

As long as you had the pure intention, I doubt you've done wrong. Just ask forgiveness and repent making sure promise to Allah that you will try your best to perfect your Salah.

Allah knows best of course.

- Dua

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[al yunan]

So i recently discovered that when i recite surah fatiha, i had confused one of the letters in the surah, so basically ive been reciting the surah incorrectly for my whole life. So do i have to make up my prayers for my whole life, or just repent a whole lot? or both? very stressed about the situation :(, so any input will be accepted. Jazkallah khair to all.

Salam again brother,

Any and all unintentional mistakes verbal or physical are forgiven by your mere seeking forgiveness and the only prayer that has to be corrected is the last one that was performed wrong.
You say whole life and you are only 16 and have already corrected two major problems, for that you should be Shukr, imagine that you where fifty and had to pay back.
I hope you see the reason for showing Allah S.W.T your thanks for His help for bringing these matters to your attention. that's special.

Masalam


PS: sister Dua I like your choice of avatar !

[Who Am I?]

This is one of my fears as I continue to study Islam, that I will get the prayers wrong. But as long as it's the intention that matters, I suppose I shouldn't worry about it.

[Riana17]

So i recently discovered that when i recite surah fatiha, i had confused one of the letters in the surah, so basically ive been reciting the surah incorrectly for my whole life. So do i have to make up my prayers for my whole life, or just repent a whole lot? or both? very stressed about the situation :(, so any input will be accepted. Jazkallah khair to all.

Hi brother, You will not be punished for something you didnt intend. I dont think your prayers were not accepted. Allah is Most Gracious and Most Merciful, He sees our hearts.
same as for me, I thought I can show my feet while praying (people have different opinion)

Instead of repeating the prayers, I am concentrating on learning to have khushoo on my prayers (quality), not to make up for it but to sincerely show Allah that I am up for improvement inshallah

Salam

[al yunan]

Instead of repeating the prayers, I am concentrating on learning to have khushoo on my prayers (quality), not to make up for it but to sincerely show Allah that I am up for improvement inshallah

Salam sister,

I believe I mentioned to you at a different thread that you should seriously consider finding a religious instructor.
I believe after reading your post here, that urgency is growing.
I hope that my words are accepted with the best intention they where writen in.
Masalam

[Riana17]

Salam sister,

I believe I mentioned to you at a different thread that you should seriously consider finding a religious instructor.
I believe after reading your post here, that urgency is growing.
I hope that my words are accepted with the best intention they where writen in.
Masalam

Salam
I didnt see any post, I could have missed it
I dont need an instructor dear Sir, thanks for that but If ever I need one, sure thing I already hired before you know it
If you havent understood my post, what I am basically saying.. is that for a year since I converted, I sometimes pray with bare foot (I see it everywhere, youtube videos, mosque etc)
Suddenly I had a doubt bcoz I remember that we can only show the face and hands (women)
Some people says, its okay to show your feet esp we dont pray with men, (except husband)
then i decided to stick with covering the foot as it seems the correct one 4me, but i dont blv I have to repeat all my prayers for a year?

[al yunan]

I dont need an instructor dear Sir,

Salam sister,

I'm not English and therefore can't be a sir Alhamdulillah.
He or she who teaches themself have ........... for their teacher.
You no need to worry you wont hear from me ever again.

Masalam

[Riana17]

Salam sister,

I'm not English and therefore can't be a sir Alhamdulillah.
He or she who teaches themself have ........... for their teacher.
You no need to worry you wont hear from me ever again.

Masalam

You know why I called you Sir , coz i dont have option but to give you respect, u seems lot older than me but I dont feel u are a brother anymore, thats so sad
how could you be so mean, have you reviewed your post, we all notice how mean you are

In Islam we are not allowed to be sarcastic or insult others, why havent u know that


Masalam

[Jalal~]

Jazakallah Khair for everyone's reply, it is really helping me out, and i Pray that Allah grant's everyone the highest level of Paradise.
al yunan - i think riana will know for herself if she needs a religious instructor or not; maybe she has wonderful friends that act as a guide for her! Im glad to see you trying to help her, because i love seeing Muslims help each other out with religion, but i think she seems to have it under control. If she says she doesnt need one for now, then she doesnt need one =]

[Riana17]

Jazakallah Khair for everyone's reply, it is really helping me out, and i Pray that Allah grant's everyone the highest level of Paradise.
al yunan - i think riana will know for herself if she needs a religious instructor or not; maybe she has wonderful friends that act as a guide for her! Im glad to see you trying to help her, because i love seeing Muslims help each other out with religion, but i think she seems to have it under control. If she says she doesnt need one for now, then she doesnt need one =]

Salam

In the first place i dont know where is that coming from, what a good insult
I am sorry to say, but the only thing i really hate is when someone thinks he is higher than anyone, i hate proud people

Istighfar

[Who Am I?]

I'm not sure what happened to this thread, but I visited the masjid again and today I learned a lot about prayer.

[MustafaMc]

Learning the proper pronunciation and the English meaning of what you recite in salah is important. I learned my basic prayer from reading transliteration, but that got me only so close to what is correct. I have since learned some Arabic and believe my pronunciation is pretty good now. I encourage you to do your best and with pure intention to worship Allah (swt) only. As a reminder, showing off in prayer is a form of shirk. Showing off is where you are more particular about the details when praying in congregation than you are when praying alone.

[Who Am I?]

The brothers I talked today said that as long as my intention is pure, then it doesn't matter if I mess up the words. As long as I am making an honest effort to pray to Allah, He will forgive any mistakes.

That made me feel better so now I don't worry about if I will make a mistake. But I am learning Arabic so that I can do my best for Allah.

[MustafaMc]

Please, don't try to do too much all at once and then get discouraged. I only recently learned Arabic and found it took a lot of time. It is best to learn Al-Fatiha and a couple of short surahs soon after you take the shahada. The following video is according to the Shafi'i madhab and is the way I pray.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6t0wlgn0GR0

[abdussattar]

It also depends on the extent of the mistake. Anyway, it is important to rectify one's mistakes as soon as they are found. What has passed is gone. Try to make your future prayers better inshallah.

[Who Am I?]

Please, don't try to do too much all at once and then get discouraged. I only recently learned Arabic and found it took a lot of time. It is best to learn Al-Fatiha and a couple of short surahs soon after you take the shahada. The following video is according to the Shafi'i madhab and is the way I pray.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6t0wlgn0GR0

Cool, that will come in handy, thanks.

I did notice last night that every time they changed positions they would say "Allahu akbar." I repeated that to myself every time they did.

[sister herb]

I think this making mistake with words is quite similar than what mistakes I did before over 10 years with praying: I accidentaly when lived alone without any muslim friends or community here, prayed to wrong direction... but I simply didn´t know where right direction really was.

:embarrass

Now I have found it already. But when I realised my mistake I really was very oooooooooops!

[MustafaMc]

Cool, that will come in handy, thanks.

I did notice last night that every time they changed positions they would say "Allahu akbar." I repeated that to myself every time they did.

Brother, the Islamic prayer is fundamentally the same among the different madhabs and they are equally valid. There are subtle differences, some of which that I am aware of 1) saying 'Bismillah, ar-Rahmani ar-Raheem' out loud at the beginning of audible rakat - or not, 2) position of hands while standing over chest - or below the navel, 3) raising hands before going into or returning from ruku and upon standing after 2nd rakat - or not, 4) positioning of feet while sitting, and 5) how much one moves his right index finger during the tashahud. My personal belief is that the Shafi'i way of salah more closely agrees with different hadith I am aware of such as in Bukhari. However, these differences are small and should not be points of disagreement between Muslims.

[al yunan]

Now I have found it already. But when I realised my mistake I really was very oooooooooops!

Assalamu Alaikum sister,

For future refference, as long as one contemplates where the Kiblat is the Salat is valid and now the good news;
The prophet s.a.w Inshallah said "In which ever direction the Mukmin decides to turn that's where the Kiblat is" (not ad verbum)

Masalam

[Who Am I?]

Brother, the Islamic prayer is fundamentally the same among the different madhabs and they are equally valid. There are subtle differences, some of which that I am aware of 1) saying 'Bismillah, ar-Rahmani ar-Raheem' out loud at the beginning of audible rakat - or not, 2) position of hands while standing over chest - or below the navel, 3) raising hands before going into or returning from ruku and upon standing after 2nd rakat - or not, 4) positioning of feet while sitting, and 5) how much one moves his right index finger during the tashahud. My personal belief is that the Shafi'i way of salah more closely agrees with different hadith I am aware of such as in Bukhari. However, these differences are small and should not be points of disagreement between Muslims.

I was thinking yesterday on the way home that it might be time for shahada. I want to participate in the prayer and not just sit on the sidelines watching. It's time to get into the game, so to speak.

With that in mind, I might make a surprise visit tomorrow...

[MustafaMc]

I think it is good for you to have taken time to ask questions and try to make sure you are making the right decision. I am also glad that your heart is drawn toward salah. I look forward to hearing your good news, but I remind you to make sure that it is all for the sake of Allah (swt) alone.

[Tyrion]

Just a Guy, as Mustafa said, madhabs are essentially the same, and all are considered valid... But I just thought I'd mention that for the sake of ease on your part, you should try and (at least for now) learn prayer and other small details according to the madhab of those around you. It might make things easier for you in the long run... Just my opinion though.

[Who Am I?]

Well I am going back to the masjid either today or tomorrow to work out some of the details. I have already observed a few prayers, so I am roughly familiar with how they operate there. But I decided the other night that I want to get into the game, so to speak. I don't want to sit on the sidelines forever.

All I know is that I feel more at peace with this decision the more I think about it and the more I pray to Allah about it. I feel like Allah (swt) is guiding me to this...