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Do previous prayers become invalid if the tongue was not moved while reciting the surahs?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

The obligatory dhikr (remembrance of Allah), such as dhikr and Quran recitation, is not valid unless the tongue is moved. If a Muslim does not move his tongue and lips, even slightly, this is considered merely looking with the eye or contemplating with the heart, not speaking with the tongue. If a person did not move his tongue out of ignorance, he is not required to repeat past prayers. Sheikh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah mentioned that an ignorant person who has not been reached by the correct text is not obligated to repeat past acts of worship.

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

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