Does the prayer become invalid if the Imam makes a mistake and is not alerted?
If the Imam makes a mistake in recitation during prayer and is not corrected:
- If the mistake is outside of Al-Fatiha, the prayer is valid.
- If the mistake is in Al-Fatiha by omitting one or more verses, or by a grammatical error (laḥn) that changes the meaning, and it is not corrected, then the prayer is invalid.
- Correcting the Imam (al-fatḥ 'ala al-imam) is obligatory in Al-Fatiha, and in other parts if the mistake corrupts the meaning.
- Correcting the Imam is permissible in parts other than Al-Fatiha if the meaning is not changed.
Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026
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