The Prophet (pbuh) said to a person who made prostration in an incomplete form, "You have not performed the prayer." Is the prayer of a person who does not perform it based on tadil al-arkan accepted?

Dear Brother / Sister,

Not to perform wajibs does not invalidate prayer. Thus, the prayer of a person who abandons a wajib deed is valid but its thawab decreases. It is not permissible to abandon a wajib deed deliberately. It is wajib to act based on tadil al-arkan; therefore, prayer is not invalidated when tadil al-arkan is abandoned. However, a person who abandons it deliberately becomes a sinner.  

The narration you have mentioned is as follows:

Rifaa Ibnu Rafi narrates:

"When we were in the mosque, a man dressed like a Bedouin came. He performed a prayer in a very brief manner. Then, he finished prayer and greeted the Messenger of Allah (pbuh). The Messenger of Allah said,

"And upon you. Go back and perform prayer because you have not prayed."

Thereupon, he returned to perform the prayer again; then, he came and greeted the Messenger of Allah. The Prophet answered his greeting and said,  

"Go back and perform prayer because you have not prayed."

The man did the same thing twice or thrice and the Prophet said the same thing:

"Go back and perform prayer because you have not prayed."

The people got scared and became very worried that one whose prayer was so brief had not been regarded to have prayed. Then, the man said:

“I am a human being. I do what is right and I make mistakes. Show me my mistake and teach me.” The Prophet (pbuh) said,

"'Alright. When you stand for prayer, perform wudu as Allah ordered you. Then, say shahadah (call adhan) and iqamah. If you know any verses of the Quran by heart, read it; if not, praise Allah, mention His greatness, and say la ilaha illallah. Then, bow down; when you are in ruku’, wait until your organs settle. Then stand completely and wait for a while. Then prostrate and wait in prostration until your organs settle. Then, sit for a while; after that, stand up.”  

“If you do like that, you will have completed your prayer perfectly. If you leave out something, you will have made your prayer deficient."

The narrator said, "This statement of the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) was easier and more relieving to the Companions than his previous statement "Go back and perform prayer because you have not prayed." For, according to the last statement, there was something deficient in the prayer but it was not rejected completely." [Tirmidhi, Salah 226, (302); Abu Dawud, Salah 148, (857-861); Nasai, Iftitah 105, (2, 193), 167, (2, 225)]

We see in the narration above that the warnings of the Prophet aim to educate. For, it is stated at the end of the narration that the prayer was not performed perfectly. "You have not prayed" means "you have not prayed perfectly". The prayer that was performed was valid but it was not a perfect prayer.

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