Questions relating to qiraat in Salaah

Q:

1. I have been told that if, for example one reads surah Nasr in the first rakaat, then in the next rakaat one cannot read surah Ikhlaas - it has to be the next surah, or a gap of 2 surahs. Please clarify this rule for me (e.g., does it apply only to short surahs, does it apply to 4 rakaat salaah as well, etc.)
2. For long surahs, can one read from different parts of the surah in consecutive rakaats. Eg., 1st rakaat beginning verses of surah Najm, and 2nd rakaat ending verses of surah Najm.

A:

1. In nafl Salaah it is permissible for one to omit one Surah in between two Surahs. However in fardh Salaah if one intentionally omits one surah between two surahs, it will be makrooh except in the case where the surah omitted is considerably longer than the surah before it, in that case it will be permissible to omit one surah. Hence you should not read surah Nasr in the first rakaat and surah Iklaas in the second rakaat of a fardh Salaah.
2. The Salaah will be valid.

And Allah Ta'ala (الله تعالى) knows best.

Answered by:

Mufti Zakaria Makada

Checked & Approved:

Mufti Ebrahim Salejee (Isipingo Beach)