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Fatwa CenterAl-Faatihah Must be Recited Properly in Prayer
Question
Assalamualaikum i am learning tajweed and i an still learning articulation points through videos on web and i did not search for a teacher i understood many articulayion points but find it difficult to pronounce at a time. Due to this i keep repeating verses of surah in salah should i repeat verses in surah al fatihah until they are correct or should i practice it outside or it will make my prayers invalid?
Answer
All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah, and that Muhammad 
is His slave and Messenger.
In Tajweed (set of rules governing the way in which the words of the Quran should be pronounced during its recitation) it is obligatory to pronounce correctly the short vowels, the letters and the words from their point of articulation, and not to replace one letter with another.
Shaykh Ibn 'Uthaymeen 
said in Fataawa Noorun ‘ala ad-Darb:
“To conclude, reciting with Tajweed is not obligatory; rather, what is obligatory is to pronounce and articulate the letters as they are, so it is not permissible to change the ر into ل, for example, or ذ into ز and the like; this is what is forbidden.” [End of quote]
He also said:
“The view that some scholars held is weak, that it is obligatory to recite with Tajweed; rather, what is obligatory is not to omit any of the letters, whether it is a double letter (Shaddah), or an independent letter. As for al-Mudood (the prolonged letters), and similar letters, about which it is only speaking in a good voice, then this is not obligatory.” [End of quote]
Based on the above, if you articulate the letters from their point of articulation, and you do not change a letter with another one, then you are not required to do anything else and your prayer is valid.
However, if you are negligent about this, then you must master the al-Faatihah, even by studying in a school, or reading from the Mus'haf before starting the prayer. If you are unable to learn, or that the time (of the prayer) is short, then the prayer is valid.
An-Nawawi said in Rawdhatu at-Taalibeen:
“Whoever is not able to recite the al-Faatihah, then he is obliged to acquire the ability by learning, or by making use of the Mus'haf to read it from it; either by buying it, hiring it, or borrowing it. If it was at night or it is dark, he is obliged to get a lamp when possible. If he refrains from doing so when possible, then he must make up every prayer that he had prayed before reciting it.
If he was not able to pronounce the Al-Faatihah properly, because of his inability to learn it, or because he is stupid, or because of the lack of the teacher or the Mus'haf, and the like, then it is not permissible to translate al-Faatihah.” [End of quote]
In the event of a mistake in al-Faatihah during prayer, then it is obligatory to repeat the word in which there is a mistake, otherwise, the prayer is void.
I’aanatu at-Taalibeen, authored by Dimyaat from the Shaafi’i School or Jurisprudence, while speaking about the conditions for the validity of Al-Faatihah in prayer, reads: The seventh: is to preserve (i.e. to pronounce properly) its letters. If he dropped one single letter from it, even the Hamza (أ ) , it is an obligation to repeat the word from which this Hamza is part of, and repeat what is after it before a long period of time and before Rukoo’ (bowing down in prayer); otherwise his prayer is void.” [End of quote]
For more benefit, please refer to Fataawa 350782, 147375, 292798 and 86574.
Allah knows best.
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