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Is it permissible to perform Tarawih prayers behind an Imam who recites only one verse from the short surahs after Al-Fatiha, which makes the prayer closer to physical exercises without reverence?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

The prayer is valid if its conditions for validity, pillars, and obligations are met, and nothing occurs within it that would invalidate it, even if the worshipper limits their recitation to just Al-Fatiha. Humility (khushu') is not a condition for its validity according to the majority of scholars. However, merely the validity of the prayer does not mean its acceptance or that the desired effects will be attained from it. Prayer deters from indecency and evil and atones for sins, and this is not achieved by one who performs the prayer without humility and presence of heart. Therefore, one should strive to attain humility in prayer, and if the imam does not facilitate this due to the brevity of his standing, he should be advised, or one should seek another imam.

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

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