What is recited in the Fajr prayer

Sayyiduna Qutbah bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) said: In the Fajr prayer the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) recited from (Surah Qaf, verse 10): "And the tall palm trees."

Sayyiduna Amr bin Hurayth (may Allah be pleased with him) said: In the Fajr prayer the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) recited from (Surah al-Takwir, verse 17): "And by the night as it closes in."

Simak said: I asked Sayyiduna Jabir bin Samurah (may Allah be pleased with him) about the prayer of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and he told me that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to recite Surah Qaf and surahs like it in the Fajr prayer.

Sayyiduna Abu Barzah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to recite from sixty to a hundred verses in the Fajr prayer.

Sayyiduna Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) recited Surah al-Baqarah in the Fajr prayer. When he finished the prayer, Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said to him: "You almost had the sun rising!" Sayyiduna Abu Bakr said: "Had the sun risen, it would not have found us among the heedless."

Al-Ahnaf said: I prayed the Fajr prayer behind Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him); he used to recite Surah Yunus, Surah Hud and the like in the Fajr prayer.

Zayd bin Wahb said: Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) recited Surah al-Kahf in the Fajr prayer.

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Amir bin Rabi'ah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I heard Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) recite Surah Yusuf at a slow pace in the Fajr prayer.

Ibn al-Furafisah narrates that his father said: I learned Surah Yusuf behind Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) in the Fajr prayer.

Abu Amr al-Shaybani said: Sayyiduna Abdullah (bin Mas'ud) (may Allah be pleased with him) led us in the Fajr prayer, in which he recited two surahs; the second of them was Surah Bani Isra'il.

Idris al-Awdi narrates that his father said: I heard Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) recite Surah al-A'la in the second rak'ah of the Fajr prayer.

Abdullah bin Shaqiq said: I prayed the Fajr prayer behind Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), and he recited Surah Yunus and Surah Hud in it.

Amr bin Maymun said: Sayyiduna Mu'adh bin Jabal (may Allah be pleased with him) led the Fajr prayer in Yemen and recited Surah al-Nisa' in it. When he reached this verse: "And Allah took Ibrahim as an intimate friend" [al-Nisa': 125], a man behind him said: "The eye of Ibrahim's mother has been delighted!"

Nafi' said: Sayyiduna Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) used to recite Surah Yusuf and Surah al-Kahf in the Fajr prayer.

Al-Harith bin Suwayd said: Our imam used to recite one of the surahs of the "Mi'in" in the Fajr prayer.

Al-Nu'man bin Qays said: Ubaydah used to recite Surah al-Rahman and surahs like it in the Fajr prayer.

Ata bin al-Sa'ib said: I prayed behind Arfajah; sometimes he would recite Surah al-Ma'idah in the Fajr prayer.

The grandfather of Ibn Idris said: I prayed the Fajr prayer behind Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him), and he recited Surah al-A'la in it.

Abu Siwar al-Qadi said: I prayed the Fajr prayer behind Sayyiduna Ibn al-Zubayr (may Allah be pleased with them both) and heard him recite these verses: "Have you not seen how your Lord dealt with Ad, Iram, of the lofty pillars?" [al-Fajr: 6-7]

Al-Walid bin Jumay' said: I prayed behind Ibrahim; he used to recite Surah Ya-Sin and surahs like it in the Fajr prayer. He was a fast reciter.

Abu Abd al-Rahman said: I have not seen anyone more learned in the Qur'an than Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him). He led us in the Fajr prayer and recited Surah al-Anbiya' in it. When he had completed seventy verses, he left out a verse and recited the one after it. Then, when he remembered, he went back and recited it. Then he returned to the place he had been reciting from, and he did not falter at all.

Al-Dahhak bin Uthman said: I saw Umar bin Abd al-Aziz recite two surahs from the long surahs of the Mufassal in the Fajr prayer.

Abu Rafi' said that Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) used to recite one hundred verses of Surah al-Baqarah in the Fajr prayer and follow them with a surah from the Mathani or from the beginning of the Mufassal. And if he recited one hundred verses of Surah Al Imran, he would likewise follow them with a surah from the Mathani or from the beginning of the Mufassal. The surahs from Surah al-Hujurat to the end of the Qur'an are called the "Mufassal". The "Mufassal" is of three kinds: the long (tiwal), the medium (awsat) and the short (qisar). The long Mufassal runs from Surah al-Hujurat to Surah al-Buruj, the medium Mufassal from Surah al-Tariq to Surah al-Bayyinah, and the short Mufassal from Surah al-Qadr to Surah al-Nas. In the above report, "the beginning of the Mufassal" means the surahs of the long Mufassal.

Husayn bin Sabrah said: I prayed behind Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him). In the first rak'ah he recited Surah Yusuf, and in the second he recited Surah al-Najm. Then he prostrated, and when he stood up he recited Surah al-Zalzalah, then he bowed.

Abdullah bin Shaddad said: In the Fajr prayer I was in the last rows when I heard the sound of Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) weeping. He was reciting this verse: "I only complain of my grief and my sorrow to Allah." [Yusuf: 86]

Something similar is reported from Alqamah bin Waqqas.

Abu Hamzah al-A'war said: Ibrahim led us in the Fajr prayer on Friday and recited Kaf Ha Ya Ayn Sad (Surah Maryam) in it.