Every rakat of the prayer includes al-Fatihah. The surah recited after it is called the additional surah (zamm-i surah in Turkish). The Diyanet Namaz İlmihali names 11 short surahs for this purpose, beyond al-Fatihah: al-Asr, al-Fil, Quraysh, al-Ma'un, al-Kawthar, al-Kafirun, an-Nasr, al-Masad (also called Tabbat or al-Lahab), al-Ikhlas, al-Falaq and an-Nas. This page lists them with links to their surah pages, which carry the Arabic text, transliteration and translation, and sets out the rules for when a surah is recited.
Short surahs recited in prayer
The list is in the order of the Mushaf.
| Surah | Mushaf number | Verses |
|---|---|---|
| Al-Fatihah | 1 | 7 |
| Al-Asr | 103 | 3 |
| Al-Fil | 105 | 5 |
| Quraysh | 106 | 4 |
| Al-Ma'un | 107 | 7 |
| Al-Kawthar | 108 | 3 |
| Al-Kafirun | 109 | 6 |
| An-Nasr | 110 | 3 |
| Al-Masad (Tabbat) | 111 | 5 |
| Al-Ikhlas | 112 | 4 |
| Al-Falaq | 113 | 5 |
| An-Nas | 114 | 6 |
Must a surah follow al-Fatihah?
In the Hanafi school reciting some Qur'an in the prayer is fard, and the minimum is three short verses or one verse of that length. Al-Fatihah is wajib, and a surah or verses after it are also wajib: in the first two rakats of fard prayers and in every rakat of sunnah prayers. Forgetting this calls for the prostration of forgetfulness; leaving it deliberately means the prayer must be repeated. In the Shafi'i school, al-Fatihah alone satisfies the fard recitation, and a further surah is a sunnah.
The Qur'an says:
— Surah al-Muzzammil, 20 (Pickthall) — Source (Turkish): High Council of Religious Affairs, "Namazda sadece Fâtiha okumakla farz olan kıraat yerine gelir mi?"Recite, then, of the Qur'an that which is easy for you.
In three- and four-rakat fard prayers, the first two rakats have al-Fatihah and a surah, while the third and fourth have al-Fatihah alone. The third rakat of Maghrib is also al-Fatihah only. See how many rakats is Maghrib and how many rakats is Dhuhr.
— Source (Turkish): Namaz İlmihali, "How the prayers are performed"Which surah in which rakat?
No rule names a particular surah for a particular rakat. The Namaz İlmihali says to recite the surahs or verses you know best. Two points deserve care:
- Mushaf order: The sunnah is to recite surahs in the order of the Mushaf. Reciting in the second rakat a surah that comes before the one recited in the first rakat is tanzihan makruh, which means disliked but not invalidating, and the prayer need not be repeated. For example, al-Ma'un in the first rakat and Quraysh in the second is makruh, while al-Kawthar in the first and al-Ikhlas in the second follows the order.
- Choose what you know: Trying to recite a surah you do not know well when you know another is also makruh.
In a congregational Fajr, Maghrib and Isha the imam recites aloud in the first two rakats. In Dhuhr and Asr the recitation is silent, at a volume you can hear yourself.
— Source (Turkish): High Council of Religious Affairs, "Namazda sûreleri Mushaf'taki sıraya göre okumanın hükmü nedir?"; Namaz İlmihali, "Makruhs of the prayer" and "Wajibs of the prayer"In what language are the surahs recited?
In prayer the Qur'an is recited in its original Arabic; reciting a translation does not make the prayer valid. The recitation must also be loud enough for you to hear yourself, and correct enough not to change the meaning. A recitation only in the mind does not count. So learn al-Fatihah accurately first, then move to the short surahs: al-Kawthar, al-Ikhlas, al-Falaq and an-Nas are good for beginners.
— Source (Turkish): Namaz İlmihali, "Recitation (qira'ah)"Other things recited in prayer
The Subhanaka, the Tashahhud, the Salawat (Salli and Barik) and the Rabbana supplications are duas, not surahs. Find them on the prayer duas page. For the prayer from start to finish see how to perform Salah, and for each prayer's rakats how many rakats in each prayer.
Sources
- Diyanet Presidency of Religious Affairs, Namaz İlmihali (Karagöz, Altuntaş), Ankara 2011 (Turkish): PDF
- Diyanet Presidency of Religious Affairs, Namaz Sûrelerinin Türkçe Terceme ve Tefsiri (A. Hamdi Aksek), 21st ed., Ankara 2012 (Turkish): PDF
- High Council of Religious Affairs, the amount of recitation in prayer (Turkish): kurul.diyanet.gov.tr
- High Council of Religious Affairs, the order of surahs (Turkish): kurul.diyanet.gov.tr
