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What is the fundamental ruling concerning actions and sounds not originating from the prayer that are emitted by the worshipper during their prayer: Is it prohibition from which certain things are excepted, or permissibility from which certain things are excepted?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

The fundamental principle is that a worshiper should be engrossed in their prayer and should not perform any action or make any sound that contradicts it. However, not every action or sound invalidates the prayer, even though it is better to avoid it. As for sounds other than speech, such as blowing or clearing one's throat (nuhnuhah), scholars have differed regarding their invalidation of prayer. Some have deemed them invalidating, some have not, and some have provided detailed explanations. The general rule is to avoid making these sounds unless there is a need for them.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

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