Do recitation mistakes invalidate the prayer?

Jurists have established certain criteria regarding whether recitation mistakes (zelletü’l-kâri) made during prayer invalidate the prayer. These can be summarized as follows:

If the Qur’an is deliberately recited incorrectly to the extent that the meaning changes, the prayer is invalidated. However, if the mistake is made unintentionally or out of forgetfulness:

a) If the mistake is in the vowel marks of the words, even if the meaning changes, the prayer is not invalidated.

b) If the mistake is made in the places of pause (waqf), that is, if one continues where a pause is required or pauses where one should continue, the prayer is not invalidated regardless of whether the meaning changes.

c) If letters with similar articulation points are mistakenly pronounced in place of each other, the prayer is not invalidated.

d) If letters with dissimilar articulation points are substituted for one another, it depends on whether the meaning changes. Accordingly, if a letter is changed but the meaning of the word does not change and there is a similar word in the Qur’an, the prayer is not invalidated. If the letter changes, the meaning does not change, but there is no similar word in the Qur’an, then according to Imam Abu Hanifa and Imam Muhammad, the prayer is not invalidated; according to Imam Abu Yusuf, it is invalidated. If the meaning changes and there is no similar word in the Qur’an, the prayer is invalidated. Skipping a verse, whether a little or a lot, does not invalidate the prayer. If a person makes a recitation mistake that would invalidate the prayer but then goes back and corrects it, the prayer is valid. (el-Fetâva’l-Hindiyye, 1/78-82; Ibn Abidin, Reddü’l-muhtâr, 1/630-633)

Source: T.C. Diyanet İşleri Başkanlığı, Din İşleri Yüksek Kurulu