Question Summary:
Waswasa in recitation in Salaah.

Question Detail:

 
I often feel I get waswasah about the pronunciation of letters.. and it affects me, causing me sadness and occassionally worrying about the validity of my prayer I can give an example of this
 
I pray and in my third rak'ah I intended to say "Ihdinas-SiraaTal MustaQeem" but to me (and I was in my bedroom) it sounded like Kheem with a Kha, but at the time I continued and then afterwards even towards the end of the prayer - my mind was thinking about this and then about the validity of my prayer. After the prayer ended I started saying "Kaf" "Qaf" "Kha" trying to see if I said Qaf still and I know this isn't normal.. then this irrirtates me and I would want to repeat my prayer to be what is supposedly "cautious", but I don't want to fall for waswasah. This doesn't always happen, but at times it happens unexpectedly.
 
Please let me know:
 
1. With the situation described above, is the prayer valid?
2. Can you tell me please about the rulings of reciting Al-Fatihah,
Like what must be done and what must be avoided and rulings associated with Al-Fatihah so that I might learn b'itnillaah.

Answer :

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
As-salāmu ‘alaykum wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuh.
Your concern for Salāh and your query with regards to its validity is a sign of your Īmān. Performance of Salāh is a great favour from Allāh. Shaytān, being our enemy, is always in search of ways of preventing us from every kind of ‘Ibādah and obedience to Allāh. He tries to create doubts and uncertainty in our minds regarding matters of ‘Ibādah and faith. Your doubts regarding the validity of your Salāh and your recital of ‘Daal’ in place ‘Daad’ is merely Waswasa (insinuation) from Shaytān.
You should dispel these doubts and continue with your Salāh. You are merely having insinuations, which you should not give any heed to. Forget about the doubts regarding previous Salāhs and focus on perfecting the recitation of the Qur’ān. Seek medical help and try to overcome your problem of Waswasa through medical treatment as soon as possible.
 
And Allah Ta’āla Knows Best
Nabeel Valli
Student Darul Iftaa
Lusaka, Zambia
Checked and Approved by,
Mufti Ebrahim Desai.
www.daruliftaa.net