What is the ruling regarding the prayers of my husband who errs in reciting Al-Fatiha and does not respond to advice? Is he considered an unbeliever because his prayer is invalid? Is the statement of some scholars that Al-Fatiha is not obligatory correct? How sound is the categorization of worshipers into five states? What is the difference between punishment and accountability? Am I an unbeliever for feeling that my husband’s prayer is valid despite his errors in Al-Fatiha?

The cure for obsessive whispers (waswas) is to ignore them and not pay attention to them. Your husband's prayer is valid and is not nullified merely by obsessive whispers. If you are certain of an error in recitation (lahn) in Al-Fatiha that changes the meaning, then advise him gently. These thoughts and obsessive whispers are from Satan. Al-Fatiha is a pillar of prayer according to the majority of scholars, while the Hanafis hold that prayer is valid without it. Ibn al-Qayyim mentioned five ranks of those who pray: one who wrongs himself, one who preserves the pillars but indulges in obsessive whispers, one who strives to repel obsessive whispers, one whose heart is completely absorbed in perfecting the prayer, and one who places his heart before his Lord. The first category is punished, the second is held accountable, the third has his sins expiated, the fourth is rewarded, and the fifth is brought near (to Allah). The difference between punishment and accountability is that accountability does not necessarily entail punishment.