What is the ruling for someone who forgot to recite Al-Fatiha in the first rak'ah of the 'Isha prayer and remembered it while in the second prostration of the third rak'ah, according to the Maliki school of thought?
For the Malikis, there are several opinions on this issue, the most well-known being that one should continue their prayer, prostrate for forgetfulness (sujud al-sahw) before the salutation (taslim), and then repeat that prayer as a precautionary measure. Reciting Al-Fatiha in every raka'ah is obligatory according to Malik in the Mudawwanah, while it was also said that it is obligatory in most of the prayer and sunnah in the lesser part, which is an opinion Malik later reverted to. The apparent position of the Maliki madhhab is that if one unintentionally omits Al-Fatiha in a raka'ah, except for the Fajr prayer, they should perform sujud al-sahw before the taslim and repeat the prayer as a precautionary measure. This ruling applies specifically to the imam and the person praying alone, but Al-Fatiha is not obligatory for the congregant (ma'mum).
Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026
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