Fathwa - Having intention throughout the prayer

Question
Salamualaikum wr wb. Do you have to maintain an intention throughout
prayer? Sometimes wheni pray i forget what i am reciting )i.e if i am
reciting al fatiha or another surah(. Does thatmean I have to repeat
myprayer?
Answer
All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify
that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad,
is His Slave and Messenger.
You should know that intention is to resolve to do something.
Intention in prayer is that the worshiper resolves to pray Thuhr or
'Asr for example. That intention should be made along with the
Takbeeratul-Ihraam )first Takbeerah( or a little time before it. It
was stated in Ar-RawdhAl-Murbi': "One can have intention while
reciting Takbeeratul-Ihraam so that the intention can be combined to
the act of worship. One can also have it )intention(
beforeTakbeeratul-Ihraam in a time that is considered by custom as a
little time." ]End quote[
If you come to know that,then intention is not done or renewed inside
the prayer. So, if you have intention and recited Takbeer, then
youhave maintained intention and that is enough.
As for what you have stated that you do not know whether you have
recited Al-Faatihah or theSoorah, then this does not make it necessary
for you to renew intention or to repeat the prayer from the beginning.
But if you have doubt whether or not you recited Al-Faatihah while you
are still in prayer, then recite it and consider that you have not
recited it before. Thatis because Al-Faatihah is a Rukn )pillar of
prayer( and whoever doubts leaving a Rukn of the prayer while he is
still in it, has to do it.Ibn Qudaamahsaid in Al-Mughni: "If one has
doubts about leaving a Rukn of the prayer while he is still in it,
whether he missed it or not? He will be like the one who did not
perform it whether he is leading people in prayer or praying alone
because the basic principle is that it was not performed." ]End quote[
Finally, reciting a Soorah after Al-Faatihah is something
recommendedand thus if one doubts whether or not he did it, then his
doubt has no effect and his prayer is valid.
Allaah Knows best.