Surah Order & Skipping Surahs in Salaah

[ummtaalib]

Reciting Surahs of the Qur’an in Order during Prayer

 

QUESTION

What is the ruling on reciting the Surahs against the order of the Qur’an in prayer? I recently performed Eid Salat behind an Imam and he recited Surah al-Ghashiyah in the first Rak’at and Surah al-A’la in the second. Will a prayer offered in this manner have to be repeated and will it be necessary to make Sujud as-Sahw? The Imam did not perform the Sujud as-sahw.

 

ANSWER

In the name of Allah, Most Compassionate, Most Merciful,

 

According to the Hanafi School, reciting the Surahs in the order that they are in the Qur’an is necessary (wajib) inside the Fardh and Wajib prayers such as the five daily obligatory prayers, the Jumu’ah prayer, the Witr prayer and the Eid prayer. As such, reciting the Surahs in a reversed order deliberately is considered to be prohibitively disliked (makruh tahriman) in these prayers, although it is not disliked in voluntary (nafl) prayers.

 

Imam al-Haskafi (Allah have mercy on him) states in his al-Durr al-Mukhtar whilst discussing the disliked acts of prayer:

 

“…And that one recites the Surahs in a reversed order unless when one completes the Qur’an, in which case one will recite from Surah al-Baqarah. It is stated in al-Qunya (m: name of a book) that if one recited Surah al-Kafirun in the first Rak’at and Surah Alam tra (al-Fil) in the second Rak’at… thereafter one remembered, then one should complete the Surah one is reciting (i.e. Surah al-Fil). And it is said that one should stop what one is reciting and start again. And none of this is disliked in the voluntary (nafl) prayer.”

 

Imam Ibn Abidin (Allah have mercy on him) explains the above by stating:

 

“(al-Haskafi’s statement: “And that one recites the Surahs in a reversed order”) such as reciting in the second Rak’at a Surah that is antecedent to the one recited in the first Rak’at. This is so because reciting the Surahs in order is from the necessary acts (wajibat) of recitation.” (Radd al-Muhtar ala al-Durr al-Mukhtar, 1/546-547)

 

It is stated in Maraqi al-Falah:

 

“It is disliked (m: prohibitively) to recite a Surah antecedent to the one already recited. Sayyiduna Abdullah ibn Mas’ud (Allah be pleased with him) said: “Whoever recites the Qur’an in a reversed order will himself be treated that way…” (Maraqi al-Falah, P: 352)

 

It should be remembered; however, that the condition for reciting the Surahs in a reversed order being prohibitively disliked (makruh tahriman) is that it be done deliberately and intentionally. If one recites the Surahs in a reversed order out of forgetfulness or mistake, it is not considered prohibitively disliked.

 

Imam Ibn Abidin (Allah have mercy on him) states:

 

“Reciting the Surahs in a reversed order (tankees)… is only disliked when it is done deliberately. If, however, it is done out of forgetfulness, then it is not disliked, as mentioned in Sharh al-Munya.” (Radd al-Muhtar, 1/547)

 

As for repeating the prayer or performing the prostration of forgetfulness (sujud al-sahw), indeed the general principle (qa’idah) is that “Any prayer offered with an element of prohibitive dislike attached to it, it is necessary to repeat it” (kullu salatin uddiyat ma’a karahat at-tahrim, tajib i’adatuha) but, as explained by Imam Ibn Abidin, this is when a prohibitively disliked element comes into the prayer by leaving out a Wajib that is of the prayer itself, and not a Wajib that is of something else. It is for this very reason that if one offers one’s prayer individually without joining in with the congregation (jama’ah), it is not necessary to repeat the prayer, even though offering the prayer in congregation (without having an excuse) is a Wajib, but this Wajib is not of the prayer itself.

 

Imam Ibn Abidin (Allah have mercy on him) states after discussing the above:

 

“This is supported by the fact that they (the fuqaha) have said reciting the Qur’anic Surahs in order is Wajib. However if one recites them in a reversed order, one is sinful, but offering a prostration of forgetfulness (sujud as-sahw) is not necessary because observing the order of the Surahs is of the necessary elements (wajibat) of reciting the Qur’an (qira’at) and not of the prayer itself, as mentioned in al-Bahr (of Ibn Nujaym) in the chapter of making mistakes.” (Radd al-Muhtar, 1/457)

 

As such, the prostration of forgetfulness and/or repeating the prayer is not necessary due to the fact that the necessity (wujub) of reciting the Surahs in order is of the necessary elements (wajibat) of reciting the Qur’an (qira’at) and not of the prayer itself.

 

Having said this, although the prostration of forgetfulness (sujud as-sahw) is never necessary, it may be better to repeat the prayer (if possible) in the case of reciting the Surahs in a reversed order deliberately. This is so because certain contemporary Fuqaha in their Fatawa works have stated that the prayer should be repeated. Imam Ibn Abidin himself has declared that repeating the prayer (i’adah) is necessary in situations such as performing the prayer in cloths containing pictures and praying whilst there is a suppressing need to urinate or defecate, both of which are prohibitively disliked and do not require the prostration of forgetfulness. (See: Fatawa Darul Uloom 2/224 & Radd al-Muhtar 1/457)

 

Finally, if an Imam recites the Surahs in a reversed order, the follower should simply assume that he did it forgetfully or by mistake, because it is one’s duty to interpret the actions of others in the best light, as the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) has commanded us in many hadiths.

 

In conclusion, we learn the following points:

 

1) It is necessary in Fardh and Wajib prayers to recite the various Surahs of the Qur’an in order and prohibitively disliked to recite them in a reversed order deliberately.

2) It is not disliked to recite the Surahs in a reversed order unintentionally and forgetfully.

3) There is no prostration of forgetfulness whether this is done deliberately or unintentionally.

4) It is also not necessary to repeat the prayer, though better to do so if this is done deliberately.

5) If an Imam was to do this in prayer, one should assume that it was done unintentionally.

 

And Allah knows best

 

[Mufti] Muhammad ibn Adam

Darul Iftaa

Leicester , UK

 

Source

[ummtaalib]

Combining Different Parts of Different Chapters of the Qur’an in a Single Cycle

 

 

Answered by Ustadh Faraz A. Khan

 

Question

Is it permissible to combine parts of surahs when praying a rakat, such as reciting the first few verses of Baqara combined with ayat al kursi in one rakat.

 

Answer

Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullah,

I pray this reaches you in the best of health and faith.

 

To recite parts of different suras in the same rak’a is disliked, so one should avoid it.

 

The following are also disliked with respect to recitation of Qur’an in the obligatory prayer [after having recited Sura Fatiha]:

 

• To repeat the same sura within the same rak’a, or to repeat the same sura in the following rak’a
• To recite a particular sura in one rak’a and then the sura before it in the next rak’a [such as Sura al-Nas in the first rak’a, then Sura al-Falaq in the second rak’a]
• To recite a particular sura in one rak’a and then skip a sura and recite the sura after it in the next rak’a [such as Sura al-Ikhlas in the first rak’a and then Sura al-Nas in the second rak’a]
• To skip a verse or more within a particular sura in the same rak’a

All of the above is disliked in the obligatory prayer, yet according to some not in the voluntary prayer. [shurunbulali, Maraqi l-Falah]

 

And Allah alone gives success.

wassalam

 

Faraz A. Khan

Checked & Approved by Faraz Rabbani

[ummtaalib]

Skipping a Surah in Salat

 

Question   

What is the mas-alah pertaining to skipping a Surah and reciting another Surah in the second Rakaat? A person read Surah Itha Jaa'a Nasrullahi ... in the first Rakaat and Surah Qul Huwallaahu Ahad in the second Rakaat. Is this in order?

 

Answer   

 

It is best to recite the next Surah in the second Rakaat, Surah Tabbat Yadaa in the question. Omitting two or more Surahs in between is also perfectly permissible. In the case of omitting just one Surah, if the Surah omitted is much lengthier than the previous Surah then omitting this longer Surah will also be permissible without any karaahat (reprehensibility.

 

The instance of karaahat is when the Surah omitted is shorter or equal or only slightly longer than the previous Surah. In these cases it will be Makrooh-e-Tanzeehi to omit that Surah. This mas-alah applies to Fardh Salaats, not to Nafl Salaats.

 

Source

[ummtaalib]

Is skipping a sura bad if non-deliberate?

 

Answered by Sidi Salman Younas

 

Question

I know that skipping a surah in the middle isnt good. But if i read surah “qulho wallaho ahad” in the first rak’ah and surah falaq in the second, not deliberately, is it bad since i didnt read surah naas?

 

Answer:

 

salamu `alaykum

I pray you are well.

 

What is disliked is to intentionally skip a surah inbetween two others or to recite in reverse order as stated in the Nur al Idah and other texts. There is nothing wrong in performing the recitation in the way you have described, [F: particularly if non-deliberate or occasional or in nafl prayers].

And Allah Knows Best

 

Wasalam

Salman

Approved by Faraz Rabbani

Source

[ummtaalib]

Is It Disliked in Prayer to Recite Two Surahs That Are Not Consecutive and to Perform a Second Cycle Longer Than the First?

Answered by Ustadh Tabraze Azam

 

Question

Assalam alaikum,

I have read that it is disliked in prayer to recite Surahs that are not consecutive. I have also read that it is disliked to recite a longer Surah in the second cycle.

Can you please clarify?

 

Answer

Wa alaikum assalam wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh,

I pray that you are well, insha’Allah.

 

The dislikedness (karaha) is in:

 

(a) reciting a chapter (surah) in the first cycle (rak`at), and then skipping the subsequent short chapter to recite the one that follows it in the next cycle because it resembles keeping away from part of the Qur’an, and

 

(b) reciting a chapter in the second cycle that is three verses or more longer than the chapter recited during the first cycle because the sunna of the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) was in lengthening the first cycle over the second.

[shurunbulali, Maraqi al-Falah]

 

See also: Can I Skip a Surah and Recite the One After It During Two Cycles of Prayer?

 

And Allah alone knows best.

 

wassalam,

Tabraze Azam

Checked & Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Source