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The question

Does unintentionally listening to surrounding sounds during prayer—even while continuing to recite dhikr and perform qira'ah—invalidate the prayer, as stated in "Manh al-Jalil"?

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Source: FtawySummarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 20261 min readAlso available in العربية
The answer

It appears the questioner is afflicted with waswasah (obsessive whispering/thoughts), and they should disregard it. What they mentioned about occasionally hearing the speech of some speakers during prayer is difficult to guard against and carries no blame. This falls under what the author of Manh al-Jalil stated: that slight listening does no harm. As for prolonged silence in prayer, it does not invalidate it according to many scholars, unless it is deliberate during the upright posture after bowing or the sitting between the two prostrations. What they mentioned about hearing their own breathing is part of the waswasah that must be disregarded.

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

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