by Asma bint Shameem
Can I read more than one Surah after Surah al-Faatihah in Salaah ?
🌿ANSWER🌿
Yes it is permissible to read more than one Surah after al-Faatihah in your prayer.
The recitation of a Surah after Surah al-Faatihah is a flexible matter.
You can read one whole Surah or part of a Surah or read more than one Surah after Surah al-Faatihah
in the same rak’ah.
(In fact the recitation of the Qur’aan after Surah al-Faatihah is not mandatory).
The matter is flexible.
📌 Proof:
The Prophet ﷺ recited two Surahs after al-Faatihah in many prayers, and these Surahs are called “ النظائر“ or “pairs”.
There are several ahaadeeth about that.
For example:
🍃 A man came to Ibn Mas’ood radhi Allaahu anhu and said:
“I recite al-Mufassal in one rak’ah.” (“Al-Mufassal” is that portion of the Qur’aan that starts with Surah Qaf, up to the end of the Qur’aan)
He said, “That is too quick, like reciting poetry.
But the Prophet ﷺ used to recite ‘pairs’, two Surahs in one rak’ah:
al-Najm and al-Rahmaan in one rak’ah,
al-Qamar and al-Haaqqah in one rak’ah,
al-Toor and al-Dhaariyyaat in one rak’ah,
al-Waaqi’ah and al-Qalam in one rak’ah,
al-Ma’aarij and al-Naaz’iaat in one rak’ah,
al-Mutaffifoon and ‘Abasa in one rak’ah,
al-Muddaththir and al-Muzzammil in one rak’ah, al-Insaan and al-Qiyaamah in one rak’ah, al-Naba’ and al-Mursalaat in one rak’ah,
al-Dukhaan and al-takweer in one rak’ah.”
(Abu Dawood 1396; saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh Abi Dawood)
🍃 And the Prophet ﷺ recited three surahs one after the other in a SINGLE rak’ah when he prayed Tahajjud.
Hudhayfah radhi Allaahu anhu said:
“I prayed with the Prophet
ﷺ one night, and he started to recite al-Baqarah.
I thought, he will do rukoo when he reaches one hundred aayaat, but he kept going.
I thought, he will complete it in one rak’ah, but he kept going.
I thought, he will do rukoo now, but he started to recite al-Nisaa, and he recited all of it, then he started to recite Aal Imraan and recited all of it.”
(Muslim 772)
🍃 AbdulAziz ibn Jurayj said:
“I asked A’ishah radhi Allaahu anhaa, mother of the believers:
“With which (surah) the Messenger of Allaah ﷺ used to observe witr?
She said:
“In the third rak'ah he would recite:
"Say, He is Allaah, the One" (Surah al-Ikhlaas 112), and "Say, I seek refuge in the Lord of daybreak" (Surah al-Falaq 113), and "Say, I seek refuge in the Lord of mankind" (Surah an-Naas 114).
(Abu Dawood 1424:saheeh by al-Albaani)
And there are many other examples.
🍃 Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen said:
“It is permissible for a person to recite two or three Surahs after al-Faatihah, or he may limit himself to just one, or he may divide a Surah in two halves (split between two rak’ahs).
All of these are permissible, because of the general meaning of the verse in which Allaah says:
“So, recite you of the Qur’aan as much as may be easy for you”
[al-Muzzammil 73:20]
And the Prophet ﷺ said:
“Then recite whatever you can of the Qur’aan.”
(Majmoo’ Fataawa al-Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen, 13/question no. 500)
And Allaah knows best.
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