Does imagining the faces of people while saying "You alone we worship and You alone we ask for help" during prayer lead to shirk (polytheism/associating partners with God)?
What a worshiper imagines in their prayer, such as shapes and images, is a whispering from Satan, and Allah is transcendent above resembling creatures. One must restrain themselves from these satanic thoughts and cease contemplating Allah's essence, moving instead to contemplate His signs and the meanings of the words the worshiper utters in their prayer. Satan seeks to corrupt the prayer, so one must seek refuge in Allah from him and spit to the left three times, as Uthman ibn Abi al-'As did under the guidance of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him. Allah Almighty says: "And if an evil suggestion comes to you from Satan, then seek refuge in Allah. Indeed, He is Hearing and Knowing." Seeking refuge in Allah and resorting to Him repels the cunning of the jinn-devil.
Summary from Ftawy's records · added here
Reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
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- Original fatwa ID
- 58791
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- Text
- Summary from Ftawy's records, reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
- Read the full ruling
- Read the full answer on Ftawy