Qira'at (reciting the Surah Al - Hamd and other Surah)
987. In the daily obligatory prayers, one should recite Surah Al - Hamd and other complete Surah in the first and second Rak’ats. The Surah Az – Zuha and Surah Inshirah are treated as one Surah in Namaz, and so are the Surah Al – Fil and Quraysh.
988. If the time left for Namaz is little, or if a person has to helplessly abandon the Surah because of fear that a thief, a beast, or anything else may do him harm, he should not recite the other Surah.
989. If a person intentionally recites Surah before Al - Hamd, his prayer is void, and if he does it by mistake, and realizes this while reciting it, he should abandon the Surah and recite Al - Hamd first, and then the Surah.
990. If a person forgets to recite Al - Hamd and Surah, or either of them and realizes after reaching the Ruku’, his prayers are in order.
991. If a person realizes before bowing for Ruku’, that he has not recited Al - Hamd and Surah, he should recite them, and if he realizes that he has not recited the Surah, he should recite the Surah only. But, if he realizes that he has not recited Al - Hamd only, he should recite Al - Hamd first and then recite the Surah again.
Moreover, if he bends but before reaching the Ruku’ realizes that he has not recited Al - Hamd and Surah, or only Surah, or only Al - Hamd, he should stand up and act according to the foregoing rules.
992. If a person intentionally recites one of the four Surahs which contain verses of Wajib Sajdah, which is mentioned in ruling no. 361, in Namaz, his Namaz will be void.
993. If a person begins reciting by mistake, a Surah which has verses of Wajib Sajdah and he realizes this before reaching the verse of Sajdah, he should abandon that Surah and recite some other Surah. But if he realizes this after reciting the verse of Sajdah, as per precautionary measures, he should make a gesture for the obligatory Sajdah, and should complete the Surah and as per precautionary measure, he should recite another Surah with the intention of Qurbat and should go to Ruku’ and complete the Namaz, and after the completion on Namaz, as per precautionary measure, he should perform the Sajdah of the verse.
994. If during Namaz a man listens to the verses making Sajdah obligatory, his prayer are in order, and on the basis of precaution, he should make a gesture for the obligatory Sajdah, and should also offer Sajdah after the prayers.
995. It is not necessary to recite a Surah after Al - Hamd in Mustahab prayers, even if that prayers may have become obligatory due to Nazr. But, as for some Mustahab prayers like Namaz – e – Wahshat, in which a particular Surah is recommended, if a person wishes to act according to the rules, he should recite the prescribed Surah.
996. While offering Friday prayers, or Zuhr prayers on Friday, it is Mustahab that after reciting Surah Al - Hamd, Surah Al - Jumu'ah should be recited in the first Rak’at, and Surah Al – Munafiqun in the second Rak’at, and once a person begins reciting one of these Surahs he is not allowed, as per obligatory precaution, to abandon it and recite another Surah in its place.
997. If after Al - Hamd, somebody begins reciting the Surah Al – Tawheed or Al – Kafirun, he cannot abandon it and recite some other Surah. However, if in Friday prayers and in Zuhr prayers on Friday, he recites one of these Surahs forgetfully, instead of Surah Al - Jumu'ah and Surah Al – Munafiqun, he can abandon it and recite Surah Al - Jumu'ah and Surah Al – Munafiqun, provided he has not read more than half of it.
998. If a person recites intentionally Surah Al – Tawheed or Surah Al – Kafirun in Friday prayers or in Zuhr prayers on Friday, even if he may not have reached half of it, as an obligatory precaution, he cannot abandon it to recite Surah Al - Jumu'ah and Surah Al – Munafiqun.
999. If in Namaz, a person recites a Surah other than Surah Al – Tawheed and Surah Al – Kafirun he can abandon that Surah before reaching half of it, and recite some other Surah. And as per precautionary measure, he should not abandon the Surah when he is between half and 2/3rd of it, and after having reached 2/3rd of a Surah, it is not permissible to resort to another Surah.
1000. If the person in Namaz forgets a part of a Surah, or cannot complete it owing to helplessness, like very little time of Namaz is left, or for some other reason, he can abandon that Surah and recite some other Surah, even if he may have reached half of it. This applies to Surah Al – Tawheed and Surah Al – Kafirun also.
1001. It is Wajib for a man to recite Surah Al – Hamd and the other Surah loudly, while offering Fajr, Maghrib and ‘Isha prayers, and it is Wajib for a man and a woman to recite Surah Al – Hamd and the other Surah silently while offering Zuhr and ‘Asr prayers.
1002. Men must take care to recite loudly every word of Surah Al – Hamd and the other Surah, including their last letters, in the prayers of Fajr, Maghrib and ‘Isha.
1003. A woman can recite Surah Al – Hamd and other Surah in Fajr, Maghrib and ‘Isha prayers loudly or silently. But, if a Na – Mahram hears her voice, as per obligatory precaution, she should recite them silently.
1004. If a person intentionally prays loudly where he should pray silently, and vice versa, his prayer is void. But, if, he does so owing to forgetfulness, or not knowing the rule, his prayer is in order. And if he realizes that he is doing a mistake while reciting the Surah Al – Hamd and the other Surah, it is not necessary to recite again what he has recited not following the rule.
1005. If a person raises his voice unusually high while reciting Surah Al – Hamd and Surah, as if he were shouting, his prayer will be void.
1006. A person should learn to offer Namaz, so that he may not offer it incorrectly, and if one cannot by any means learn the whole of Namaz, he should learn as much of it as he can and offer; As per obligatory precaution, he should offer his prayers in congregation, except if it is difficult for him.
1007. If a person does not know Surah Al – Hamd or another Surah or any other part of Namaz well, but can learn it, he should do so if he has enough time in his disposal to offer Namaz. And if he do not have enough time at his disposal, as per obligatory precaution, if possible, he should offer his Namaz in congregation.
1008. As per obligatory precaution, to take wages for teaching obligatory acts of prayers is Haraam, however, taking wages for teaching Mustahab things is permissible.
1009. If a person does not know a certain word of Surah Al – Hamd or Surah, or does not utter it intentionally, or utters one letter for another like, Zad (ض) for Za’ (ظ), or changes the inflections, by giving movements of Fat’hah (ـَ) or Kas’rah (ـِ) where not needed, or does not render Tashdid (ـّ) properly, his prayer is void.
1010. If a person has learnt a word which he believes to be correct, and recites it that way in prayers, but comes to know later that he has been reciting it incorrectly, he should offer his Namaz again and if the time has passed he should offer Qadha.
1011. If a person does not know whether a particular word is to be read with Fat’hah or Kas’rah, or if he does not know whether a particular word has a "Seen"(س) or a "Swad"(ص) in it, he should take pains to learn that. And if he tries to recite in two or more ways, like, reciting the ‘S’ of “Mustaqeem” with once with the “Seen” (س) and once with the “Swad”(ص), the prayers will be void.
1012. If in a word there is Waw (و) and an alphabet before that has a Zamma (ـُ) and letter after Waw (و) has got Hamza (ء) like Soo’ (سُوء), then Waw (و) should be pronounce with Madd, which means prolonging the letter while pronouncing. Similarly, if in a word there is an Alif (ا) and the letter after Alif (ا) has got Hamza (ء) like Jaa’a (جآء), then Alif (ا) should be pronounced with Madd. Also, if in a word there is Ya’ (ی) and a letter before that has Kas’rah (ـِ) and the letter after Ya’(ی) is Hamza (ء), like Jee’a (جِیء), then Ya’ (ی)should be pronounced with Madd. If afte Waw (و), Alif (ا) and Ya’ (ی) instead of Hamza (ء) there is another letter and it is Saakin (ـْ), means it does not have Fat’hah (ـَ), Kas’rah (ـِ) or Zam’mah (ـُ), even then these three letters will be pronounced with Madd. For example, in “Wala – dhaalleen” (last word of Surah Al – Hamd) there is a Saakin (ـْ) after Alif (ا), and so the Alif (ا) will be pronounced with Madd. And if the prayer is not offered according to the mentioned ruling, then one should complete his prayer and offer it again.
1013. As per recommended precaution, while offering prayers, if one wants to do Waqf then he should avoid reciting the ending Harkat (accents) of an Ayat, and if he wants to continue with the next Ayat then he should render it without Waqf and join. For example, if you recite "Ar Rahmanir Rahimi" and then wait before starting the next, it is not proper. You should continue with no waiting. Similarly, in the same Ayat, that is, "Ar Rahmanir Rahim", if you read the last letter "mim" with Saakin, you should not attach the "mim" to "Maliki Yawmiddin".
1014. In the third and fourth Rak’ats of prayers, one may either read only Surah Al – Hamd or recite Tasbihat Arba'ah once, i.e. – Subhanallahi wal Al - Hamdu lillahi wa la ilaha illal lahu Wallahu Akbar – although it is better that it should be said three times. It is also permissible to recite Surah Al – Hamd in one Rak’at, and Tasbihat Arba'ah in the other, but it is better to recite Tasbihat in both.
1015. When time for Namaz is short, one must recite Tasbihat Arba'ah once, and if he has plenty of time in his disposal then also reciting once will suffice but it is better to recite three times.
1016. It is obligatory for men and women that in the third and fourth Rak’ats, they should recite Surah Al – Hamd or Tasbihat Arba'ah silently.
1017. If a person recites Surah Al – Hamd in the third and fourth Rak’ats, as per obligatory precaution, even the "Bismillah" should be recited silently.
1018. A person who cannot learn Tasbihat Arba'ah, or cannot pronounce them correctly, should recite Surah Al – Hamd in the third and fourth Rak’ats.
1019. If a person recites Tasbihat Arba'ah in the first two Rak’ats, thinking that they are the last two Rak’ats, and if he realizes the error before Ruku’, he should recite Surah Al – Hamd and Surah. But if he realizes this during or after the Ruku’, his prayer is in order.
1020. If a person recites Surah Al – Hamd in the last two Rak’ats, thinking that they are the first two Rak’ats, or recites Surah Al – Hamd in the first two Rak’ats, thinking that they are the last two Rak’ats, his prayer is in order, whether he realizes the mistake before or after Ruku’.
1021. If in the third or fourth Rak’at, a person wanted to recite Surah Al – Hamd, but instead of that, Tasbihat Arba'ah came on his tongue, or if he wishes to recite Tasbihat Arba'ah but Surah Al – Hamd comes on his tongue, he should abandon it and recite Tasbihat Arba'ah or Surah Al – Hamd again. However, if the recitation which came on his tongue was the one to which he was habituated, then he should complete it and his prayers will be valid.
1022. If a person who has the habit of reciting Tasbihat Arba'ah in the third and fourth Rak’ats, ignores his habit and begins reciting Al - Hamd, with the intention of performing his obligation, it will be sufficient.
1023. In the third and fourth Rak’ats, it is Mustahab to seek forgiveness from Allah after Tasbihat Arba'ah. That is, one should say, Astaghfirullaha Rabbi wa Atubu Illayhi, or one should say, Allahummaghfir li. And before bowing for Ruku’, while he is uttering Istighfar or has finished it, if he doubts whether he has recited Al – Hamd or Tasbihat or not, since one finds himself doing Istighfar which he usually does after Al – Hamd or Tasbihat, then he should ignore his doubts or else he should recite Al – Hamd or Tasbihat. Similarly, if one doubts whether he has recited Al – Hamd or Tasbihat or not, before bowing for Ruku’ and was not doing Istighfar, then he should recite Al – Hamd or Tasbihat.
1024. If the person doubts while in Ruku’ of third or fourth Rak’at, whether or not he has recited Surah Al – Hamd or Tasbihat Arba'ah, he should ignore his doubt. Similarly, he should ignore the doubt if it occurs while bowing for Ruku’.
1025. If a person doubts whether he has pronounced a verse or a word correctly, until he has not entered in next Rukn, he can go back and as per precautionary measures, one should pronounce that word or verse correctly, except he has entered in the next Rukn, like, one doubts in Ruku’ whether he has recited the Surah correctly or not, in this situation one cannot go back and should ignore his doubt.
1026. It is Mustahab that in the first Rak’at one should say A'uzubillahi Minash shaytanir Rajim before reciting Surah Al – Hamd, and in the first and second Rak’ats of Zuhr and ‘Asr prayers one should say Bismillah loudly. It is Mustahab also to recite Surah Al – Hamd and other Surah distinctly, with a pause at the end of every verse i.e. not joining it with the next verse, and while reciting Surah Al – Hamd and Surah, one should pay attention to the meanings of each verse.
And it is Mustahab to say, Al – Hamdulillahi Rabbil 'Alamin after the completion of Surah Al – Hamd by the Imam in the congregation, and by himself, if he is praying alone. And after reciting Surah Al – Tawheed he should say, “Kazalikallahu Rabbi” once, twice or three times or “Kazalikallahu Rabbuna” three times. Similarly, it is Mustahab to pause a little after reciting the Surah, then say Takbir, before going to Ruku’ or reciting Qunoot.
1027. It is Mustahab that in all the prayers, one should recite Surah Al – Qadr in the first Rak’at, and Surah Al – Tawheed in the second Rak’at.
1028. It is Makrooh not to recite Surah Al – Tawheed even once in one of the daily prayers.
1029. It is Makrooh to recite the whole of Surah Al – Tawheed in one breath.
1030. It is Makrooh to recite in the second Rak’at the same Surah, which one has recited in the first Rak’at. However, if one recites Surah Al – Tawheed in both the Rak’ats, it is not Makrooh.