Salat 24: Recitation Part 1

Rulings Regarding Prayer- Qirā'ah (Recitation)- part 1

One of the other obligatory parts of prayer is qirā'ah, which means the recitation of Surah al-Fatiha and the other surah, obligatory dhikrs, tashahhud, and salāms of the prayer.

Surah al-Fatiha must be recited after takbiratul- ihrām in the first and second rak'ats of all prayers, except for the funeral prayer, and based on precaution it should be followed by the recitation of a complete surah from the Holy Qur'ān.

However, in recommended prayers, for which no particular surah has been mentioned, it would suffice to recite surah al- Fatiha without having to recite the other surah.

Nonetheless in all prayers one can generally choose all the surahs of the Qur'ān for the recitation of the other surah, except for the four surahs that contain obligatory sajdahs. Furthermore, surah al-Fīl, and 'surah Quraysh, and similarly 'surah al-Duhā' and 'surah al-Inshirāh, are counted as one surah.

When reciting Surah al-Fatiha and the other surah, the following rules must be observed: it is obligatory for men to recite Surah al-Fatiha and the other surah aloud in Fajr, maghrib and ishā prayers. And it is also obligatory for men to recite them in Ẓuhr and ʿAsr prayers in a low voice. Similarly, it is obligatory for a woman to recite Surah al-Fatiha and the other surah in Ẓuhr and ʿAsr prayers in a low voice, but concerning Fajr, maghrib and ishā prayers she has a choice to recite them loudly or in a low voice unless there is a non-mahram around who can hear her voice, in which case based on a recommended precaution the woman should recite the two Surahs in a low voice.

It should be noted that reciting aloud means letting out the vocal essence and tone of voice, but not raising one's voice higher than normal, as if they are shouting, in which case the prayer will be invalidated.

Likewise, reciting in a low voice means that the voice must not reveal its essence, as if one is whispering, but not merely making the words pass through the heart.

But if, out of forgetfulness, one recites Surah al-Fatiha and the other surah in a low voice in, say, ishā prayer, or recite them aloud in Ẓuhr prayer, the prayer will not be invalidated. However, as soon as they remember, they must perform the rest of the prayer correctly.

We will explain the rest of issues pertaining to qirā'ah in next episodes.

• One of the other obligatory parts of prayer is qirā'ah, which means the recitation of Surah al-Fatiha and the other surah, obligatory dhikrs, tashahhud, and salāms of the prayer.
• However, in recommended prayers, for which no particular surah has been mentioned, it would suffice to recite surah al- Fatiha without having to recite the other surah.

• Nonetheless in all prayers one can generally choose all the surahs of the Qur'ān for the recitation of the other surah, except for the four surahs that contain obligatory sajdahs. Furthermore, surah al-Fīl, and 'surah Quraysh, and similarly 'surah al-Duhā' and 'surah al-Inshirāh, are counted as one surah.

It is obligatory for men to recite Surah al-Fatiha and the other surah aloud in Fajr, maghrib and ishā prayers and to recite them in Ẓuhr and ʿAsr prayers in a low voice. Similarly a woman recite Surah al-Fatiha and the other surah in Ẓuhr and ʿAsr prayers in a low voice, but concerning Fajr, maghrib and ishā prayers she has a choice to recite them loudly or in a low voice unless there is a non-mahram around who can hear her voice.

It should be noted that reciting aloud means letting out the vocal essence and tone of voice, but not raising one's voice higher than normal.

Likewise, reciting in a low voice means that the voice must not reveal its essence, as if one is whispering, but not merely making the words pass through the heart.