Qiraat

Q: I know that one should read longer Qiraat in the first rakat than the second rakat and that one should not skip an in-between Surah between rakats unless the rakat one skips is long. This applies to Fard salaah. My questions are:

1. What is meant by "long" Qiraat? Is this the number of lines or the number of ayaat?

2. Does the Qiraat have to get progressively shorter for the nafl and Sunnah rakats of Sunnat-e-Muakkadah and Sunnat-e-Ghair-Muakkadah as well?

3. Can you skip an in-between Surah in the Nafl and Sunnah salaah?

Q: I heard that when reading Surah Fatihah, you need to make the sound of the “dal” in “wa lad-daaalleen” longer, till 6 seconds. However, it is difficult for me to count how many seconds and often I finish it in 3 second or so. Is my prayer valid even if I do it deliberately because I can’t count seconds when reciting?

Q: Do we need to recite surahs in order as per the Quran Majeed?

If a person doesn't know this ruling before and afterwards he comes to know it, he recites in order, what is the ruling on this?

Q: During salaah, due to anxiety/anger because I heard someone in my family making unnecessary loud noises, I raised my voice in recitation a little. Is my prayer valid?

Q: In a few of my past prayers, I remember I had moments where I’d get confused or make a mistake during prayer due to being nervous and in those moments I’d cough or sniffle without necessity, as a result of embarrassment and me not wanting anyone around me to think that I was struggling during salah. Do these salah’s need to be repeated?

Q: I heard in salah, errors to do with waqf dont matter. Does this apply to stopping in the middle of a word and then resuming?

I attempted reciting waladhaleen twice and every time between the ‘leen’ part, my voice stopped because of an obstruction in my throat. However, the third time I tried again and the same thing happened, after the pause, my voice came back a second later and finished reciting the remaining letters. Because I paused abruptly, is my salah fine?

Q:

1. I recited ‘saliheen’ with a bottom throat ‘ha’ and noticed during the middle of reciting it during the enlongation of the last syllable. During the elongation of ‘heen’, even after I realised, I still pronounced it with my lower throat. Is this considered intentionally reciting something wrong and did it invalidate my prayer?

2. During the du’a portion of Witr, I usually recite Rabbana Atina Fidunya 3 times. The second time I recited it, it felt like I had recited ‘Rabbana atina fidunya hasanatan wa qina adhabanar’ as opposed to the correct full invocation. Because of my uncertainty, can I assume my prayer is sound?

Q: When performing salaah, can one recite Surahs against the sequence of the Qur'an? For example, can one recite Surah Falaq in the first rakaat and Surah Kaafiroon in the second rakaat? 

Q: Is it makrooh to recite a Surah in the 1st rakaat and then skip a Surah and recite the next Surah in the second rakaat?

Q: Is it makrooh to read a shorter Surah in the first rakaat and a longer Surah in the second rakaat?