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Will a Muslim be forgiven for excessive distraction and forgetfulness in prayer after repentance?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

Reverence (khushu') in prayer is among its most emphasized recommendations and its essence, and one should strive for it. However, the prayer is valid without it if it fulfills its conditions and pillars. If the worshiper forgets something that necessitates the prostration of forgetfulness (sujud al-sahw), he should perform it. But if forgetfulness becomes frequent and turns into obsessive whispering (waswas), he should not pay attention to it. A servant is not held accountable for forgetfulness because it is beyond his control, as Allah Almighty says: "Our Lord, do not impose blame upon us if we have forgotten or erred," and the response came: "I have done so."

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

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