They cited as evidence the fact that when Dhu al-Yadayn said to the Prophet ﷺ, “Yes, you have forgotten …,” he replied, “Is Dhu al-Yadayn correct?” (1) This was speech addressed to other people, yet it was speech for the benefit of the prayer.

The second view is that the prayer is invalidated if he speaks, due to the general meaning of the Prophet’s ﷺ statement: “Nothing of people’s speech is appropriate in this prayer.” (2) Moreover, the Prophet ﷺ instructed us to say Subhan Allah (3). Had addressing the imam verbally for the benefit of the prayer been harmless, he would have instructed us to do so, since it is clearer and more effective in achieving the intended purpose than saying Subhan Allah. Since he directed us away from it, it is known that it is not permissible; for the interest of the matter would require it were it not prohibited. There is no doubt that this evidence is strong, and that the prayer is invalidated when one alerts the imam verbally. Yet we need to answer the evidence cited by those who maintain that the prayer is not invalidated, because the speech is for the benefit of the prayer.

The answer is that when the Prophet ﷺ spoke, he did not know that he was still in prayer; rather, he thought that the prayer had ended. This is why he said, “I have neither forgotten nor has the prayer been shortened.” When they said, “Dhu al-Yadayn is correct,” or when they said, “Yes,” he did not speak further; rather, he went forward and performed what he had omitted. There is a difference between someone who knows that he is in prayer but speaks for the benefit of the prayer, and someone who is not certain that he is in prayer—rather, he thinks that he is no longer praying and that his prayer has ended. Accordingly, this hadith cannot be used as evidence.