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Is a non-Arab, deaf, and mute person required to recite the Quran during prayer? And how does he perform the prayer in this situation?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

If a Muslim is unable to perform some of the obligatory duties, they are waived for him. He must, therefore, do what he is able to, because Allah Almighty says: (So fear Allah as much as you are able). Thus, for the mute and the dumb person who cannot recite, what they are unable to do is waived. If they are able to glorify Allah (tasbih) or remember Him (dhikr), they should do that instead of recitation. If they are unable to do even that, it is waived for them and nothing is binding upon them. If they are able to say "Allahu Akbar" (takbir), then they are obliged to do so. But if they are completely unable to speak, all verbal pillars and obligations are waived for them, and they are only required to perform the physical pillars. There is a difference of opinion regarding the obligation of moving the tongue and lips, and the majority of scholars hold that it is waived.

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

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