Salah and the order of Surahs to recite

Question

Concerning my Salah (namaz), when reading 4 fard do I just recite fatiah and then 1 surah after in the 1st and 2nd rakat only? or in all 4 rakat I recite fatiah and surah? and in Sunnah, I recite fatiah and surah in all 4 rakats. Also the surahs I read – do they have to be in the order of the Quran e.g. al-ikhlas and then al-falaq, or can I read al-kafiroon and then al-ikhlas? I have heard also that the surahs read after al fatiah should be longest to shortest but if reading in the order of the quran, if I read ikhlas first and then an-nas it is shortest to longest?

Answer

When performing 4 rakat FARD Salaah, in the first two rakats, you will recite Surah Al-Fatiha first and then any other surah. For the last two rakats, you only have to recite Surah Al-Fatiha. When performing 4 rakat SUNNAH salaah, in ALL FOUR RAKATS, you must recite Surah Al-Fatiha and any other surah. It is proper to recite the surah in order as they appear in the Qur’an. It is makruh (undesirable) to read it out of order. The salaat will be valid, but once again, it is undesirable to read the surahs out of order. It is only in the first rakah of Fajr salaah that the Surah should be longer than the second rakats. For all other salaats, the Surah of the rakaats should be more or less equal. If they are longer or shorter by one or two verses, there is no harm in this. However, one should remember that it is proper to recite the surahs in order as they appear in the Quran. If you read Surah Ikhlas first, then one should either recite Surah Falaq or Surah Naas in the second rakaat.

And Allah knows best.

Ask Alimah Team

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