Malikul Ulama has written in Bidaya was Sanaya that:1
“In the Maghrib Prayer, Umar did not recite Surah Hamd in the first unit and
he made up for it in the second unit, by reciting it aloud. Uthman during the Isha
Prayer did not recite Surah Hamd in the first and second unit and made up for it
in the third and four units by reciting it aloud.”
Allamah Amini says: What those two Caliphs have committed is opposed
to Sunnah from two aspects:
1. Sufficing with the unit in which Surah Hamd is not recited.
2. For making up what was missed, they recited Surah Hamd in the second,
third or fourth unit along with what was supposed to be recited in these three
units.
As for the first aspect: We mention hereunder a number of traditional reports
recorded on this point:
1. It is narrated from Ubaidah bin Samit in a chainless tradition that:
“One, who does not recite the Mother of Quran [Surah Hamd] and more than
that, his prayer is not valid.”
And it is mentioned in a report that:
“One, who does not recite the Opening of the Book [Fathihatul Kitab], his
prayer is not valid, whether he is the imam or a follower.”2
2. It is narrated from Abu Saeed Khudri in a chainless tradition that:
“One, who does not recite Surah Hamd and another Surah in every unit
(Rakat) in an obligatory or recommended prayer, his prayer is not valid.”3
Shafei’s view
The leader of the Shafeis has written in Kitabul Umm that:4
The Messenger of Allah (s.a.w.a.) made it Sunnah that the reciter should
recite Surah Hamd in Prayer; and it followed that its recitation for the
worshipper, if he could recite it, is obligatory.
At that moment he has listed a number of traditions and remarks:
“Thus, on one, who is reciting prayer individually or is leader of
congregation, it is obligatory to recite Mother of Quran [Surah Hamd] in every
unit and other than that is not sufficient. And if one letter of Mother of Quran
[Surah Hamd] is missed even due to forgetfulness, no value is accorded to that
unit, because one, who omits a single letter from it, cannot be said to have recited
the Mother of Quran [Surah Hamd] completely.”
Malik’s view
As mentioned in Mudawwanatul Kubra, the leader of Malikis has said:5
We will not act according to the view of Umar that when he omitted
recitation of Surah (Qirat)6 and when they asked: You did not recite the Qirat?
He asked: :How were the genuflections and prostrations?” They replied: “All
right.” He said: “In that case there is no problem.” My opinion is that whoever
does this, he should repeat the Prayer; even if the time has lapsed.
He says regarding one, who omits Qirat during two units of Zuhr, Asr are
Isha:
“His Prayer is not valid and he should recite it again. And one, who omits
Qirat in all these, he should recite again. And if he recites in one and omits in
another unit, in that case also he has to repeat it. And if he recited in two units
and omitted in two units, he should recite the Prayer again in whichever prayer
that is.”
Hanbali viewpoint
Ibne Hazm has stated in Al-Mahalli:7 “Recitation of Surah Hamd is
obligatory in every prayer for the leader and followers; and one who recites it
alone, and obligatory and recommended prayer and men and women are equal in
this issue.”
The act of Umar8 and what is attributed to Ali (a.s.) – and he is remote from
this attribution – has mentioned it and writes:
After the passing away of Messenger of Allah (s.a.w.a.) the statement of
anyone does not become the evidence.
And among the mentioned statements, the command of the second aspect is
understood that the whole Ummah has consensus that making amends of a
missed unit of prayer in the next unit, has not come in prophetic Sunnah, and
viewpoint of these two persons are baseless, and cannot be acted upon, and no
reporter has reported anyone acting on this verdict, and it is preferable that the
truth should be followed.