Question: When one recites an additional surah after Surat al-Fatiha in salat, is it makruh to skip one surah? Is it still makruh if the surah skipped is a long one? For example, is it makruh to recite Surat at-Tin in the first rak’at and Surat al-Qadr in the second rak’at?
ANSWER
In every salat, it is makruh to recite in the second rak’at three ayahs (Qur’anic verses) more than the ones recited in the first rak’at. It is makruh, too, to skip the short surah (Qur’anic chapter) coming right after the one recited in the first rak’at and to recite the surah after it.

Accordingly, if one has recited Surat al-Ma’un in the first rak’at, it is makruh for one to recite Surat al-Kafirun in the second rak’at because, in this case, one skips Surat al-Kawthar, which is a short surah. It is not makruh to recite Surat at-Tin in the first rak’at and Surat al-Qadr in the second rak’at because between these two surahs is a long surah called Surat al-‘Alaq.

Question: If a person has recited Surat al-Kawthar in the first rak’at and has forgotten what he recited and has begun to recite it again in the second rak’at, is there anything wrong with him breaking off reciting Surat al-Kawthar and starting to recite Surat al-Ikhlas?
ANSWER
If one knows two different surahs by heart, it is makruh for one to deliberately recite the same surah in two rak’ats. But if one does so out of forgetfulness, one should not break off one’s recitation but complete it. A hadith-i sharif says, “If you have started a surah, recite it and do not change it.”

Question: Suppose that a person, when performing Salat al-Witr, does not recite in the third rak’at the surah coming after the one he recited in the second rak’at but recites the surah one or two surahs before it. Is there anything wrong with it? Is the third rak’at counted as a separate rak’at, so is it not important which surah he recited in the second rak’at?
ANSWER
The third rak’at of Salat al-Witr is not a separate rak’at. It is necessary to recite in the third rak’at the surah that comes right after the one recited in the second rak’at or any of the following surahs. It is makruh to deliberately recite any of the ones coming before it. It will not be makruh if one does so out of forgetfulness.

Question: In Salat al-Witr, is it makruh to recite Surat al-Falaq in the first rak’at, Surat an-Nas in the second rak’at, and Surat al-Fil in the third rak’at?
ANSWER
Yes, it is makruh.

Question: Is it makruh to recite Surat al-Ikhlas in the first rak’at and Surat al-Kawthar in the second one out of forgetfulness?
ANSWER
It is not makruh because doing so by mistake is an excuse.

Question: If the surah skipped is a long one, is it permissible to skip one surah? For example, is it permissible to recite Surat at-Tin in the first rak’at and to skip Surat al-‘Alak, a long surah, in between and to recite Surat al-Qadr in the second rak’at?
ANSWER
Yes, it is permissible.

Question: When reciting Surat al-Qadr in salat, I skipped an ayah of it by mistake. Was my salat nullified?
ANSWER
No, it was not nullified. When three ayahs are recited, one is considered to have fulfilled the necessary (wajib) action.

Question: If one, while reciting an additional surah after Surat al-Fatiha in salat, skips one ayah of it out of forgetfulness, is there anything wrong with it?
ANSWER
There is nothing wrong with it if one has recited three ayahs of it or one ayah of it that equals three ayahs in length. If not, then one should restart reciting that surah, say three ayahs, and perform sajda as-sahw at the end of the salat.

Question: Is it permissible to recite Surat al-Qadr, Surat al-Fil, and Surat al-Ikhlas in a single rak’at?
ANSWER
Yes, it is permissible.

Question: Is it permissible to recite some verses of a long surah in the first rak’at and to continue reciting it in the second rak’at by skipping some verses of it?
ANSWER
Yes, it is permissible.

Question: Is it makruh to recite in the second rak’at a surah that contains three ayahs more than the one recited in the first rak’at? Does this principle apply to fard, sunnat, and nafilah (voluntary, optional) salats?
ANSWER
Yes, it applies to fard, sunnat, and nafilah salats. But in nafilah salats, an additional surah is recited in the third and fourth rak’ats as well. It is not makruh to recite in the third rak’at of a nafilah salat a surah longer than the ones recited in the first and second rak’ats because, in nafilah salats, two rak’ats are considered a separate salat. Sunnat salats, too, are in the category of nafilah salats.

This rule does not apply to those who offer sunnat salats intending simultaneously both to make up a missed fard salat and to perform sunnat salat. The reason for this is that when one makes such a double intention for a sunnat salat, then it is performed in the same way as a fard salat is performed; that is, one should not recite an additional surah in the third and fourth rak’ats of them. But there is nothing wrong with it even if one recites an additional surah in the third and fourth rak’ats of them.

Question: It is sunnat that the surah recited in the second rak’at should not contain three ayahs more than the one recited in the first rak’at. Then in what order should one recite surahs if one has memorized only the ones coming after Surat al-Fil?
ANSWER
Surat al-Ma’un contains seven ayahs. If one recites it in the first rak’at, one can recite the surahs containing three or four ayahs in the second rak’at, e.g., Surat al-Kawthar, Surat an-Nasr, or Surat al-Ikhlas. Alternatively, one can recite Surat al-Kafirun in the first rak’at and Surat an-Nasr in the second one. It is also permissible, not makruh, to recite in the second rak’at a surah that contains the same number of ayahs as or two ayahs more than the surah recited in the first rak’at. For instance, when Surat al-Kawthar, which contains three ayahs, is recited in the first rak’at, Surat at-Tabbat or Surat al-Falaq, which contain five ayahs, may be recited in the second rak’at.

Question: Why is it makruh to recite Surat al-Kawthar in the first rak’at and Surat al-Kafirun in the second rak’at?
ANSWER
As it is makruh to recite in the second rak’at a surah that contains three ayahs or more than the one recited in the first rak’at, it is makruh to recite Surat al-Kawthar in the first rak’at and Surat al-Kafirun in the second rak’at. It will not be makruh if it is done by mistake.

Question: It is written in fiqh books, “It is makruh to recite in the second rak’at three ayahs more than the ones recited in the first rak’at.” Does this makruh herein mean makruh tahrimi?
ANSWER
When the word makruh is used alone, it generally refers to makruh tahrimi. However, in the book Ni’mat-i Islam is written that the word makruh in this context refers to makruh tanzihi. If one does so out of forgetfulness, it will not be makruh.

Question: Is it makruh to recite in a single rak’at the different verses of the same surah? For example, is it makruh to recite the first verse of Surat al-Mulk and then to recite another verse of it after skipping many verses?
ANSWER
Yes, it is makruh. One should recite it without skipping any verses.