omitting the definite article in, “not of those who have incurred Your wrath.” This happens often with those who merge the words together because they recite too quickly, and the recitation is therefore invalid.

His statement, “or its order,” means that if he disrupts the order of its verses or words, such that he says, “All praise is for Allah, Lord of all worlds; Master of the Day of Judgment; the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful,” or says, “the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate; Master of the Day of Judgment,” then it is invalid, because he has disrupted the prescribed order. The order of its verses and words is established by prophetic instruction, not by independent reasoning. Hence, the Prophet, may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him, would say, “Place this verse in the surah in which such-and-such is mentioned.” (1) Even if there were no evidence regarding al-Fātiḥah other than the Prophet’s reciting it in this order, upon which the Muslims have reached consensus.

His statement, “anyone other than a follower praying behind an imam must repeat it”: “other than” is in the accusative case as an object placed before the verb, while “repeating” is its deferred subject. That is, repeating it is required of one who is not praying behind an imam, because reciting al-Fātiḥah is not obligatory for the follower praying behind an imam, according to the well-known position of the school. Thus, if the follower deliberately omits it, he is not required to repeat the prayer. Nevertheless, it is forbidden for him to reverse the order of the verses or the words. The point is simply that, with respect to the obligation of repeating al-Fātiḥah, it is not required of the follower if he does this, because it is not obligatory for him. But is