Method of Quranic Recitation in Congregational Prayers

This excerpt is taken from the book Ṣaḥīḥ Ṣalāh an-Nabī ﷺ, authored by al-Shaykh ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ʿAzīz, published by Maktabah Dār al-Andalus.

Recitation in Congregational Prayer​

Recitation in Fajr Prayer​

❀ It is narrated from Sulaymān ibn Yasār رحمه الله that Sayyidunā Abū Hurayrah رضي الله عنه said:

I have not prayed behind anyone whose prayer was more similar to the prayer of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ than that person.

Sulaymān ibn Yasār said:
He used to recite long passages in the first two rakʿahs of Ẓuhr and shorten the last two rakʿahs, he would recite briefly in ʿAṣr, short chapters of al-Mufaṣṣal (from al-Zalzalah to an-Nās) in Maghrib, medium chapters of al-Mufaṣṣal (from aṭ-Ṭāriq to al-Bayyinah) in ʿIshāʾ, and long chapters of al-Mufaṣṣal (from Qāf to al-Burūj) in Fajr.

Reference: an-Nasāʾī: 983

❀ Abū Barzah al-Aslamī رضي الله عنه narrated:

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ used to recite between sixty (60) and one hundred (100) verses in the Fajr prayer.

Reference: Muslim: 461

Recitation in Ẓuhr Prayer​

❀ Sayyidunā Abū Saʿīd al-Khudrī رضي الله عنه said:

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ used to recite approximately thirty (30) verses in each of the first two rakʿahs of Ẓuhr, and about fifteen (15) verses in the last two rakʿahs.

Reference: Muslim: 452

Recitation in ʿAṣr Prayer​

❀ In the first two rakʿahs of ʿAṣr, approximately fifteen (15) verses should be recited in each, and in the last two rakʿahs, about half of that, meaning seven or eight verses.

Reference: Muslim: 452

Recitation in Maghrib Prayer​

❀ In the Maghrib prayer, chapters from Qiṣār al-Mufaṣṣal (from al-Zalzalah to an-Nās) should be recited.

Reference: an-Nasāʾī: 983

❀ Occasionally, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ would recite long sūrahs such as Sūrah aṭ-Ṭūr and Sūrah al-Mursalāt in Maghrib.

Reference: al-Bukhārī: 763, 765; Muslim: 362, 363

Recitation in ʿIshāʾ Prayer​

❀ In the ʿIshāʾ prayer, chapters from Awsat al-Mufaṣṣal (from aṭ-Ṭāriq to al-Bayyinah) should be recited.

Reference: an-Nasāʾī: 983

General Principle of Recitation in Prayer​

❀ The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:

“Whoever leads people in prayer should make it light, for among them are the weak, the elderly, and the sick.”

Reference: al-Bukhārī: 703; Muslim: 467

❀ The first rakʿah of the Prophet ﷺ was longer than the second, and the first two rakʿahs were longer than the last two.

Reference: al-Bukhārī: 758, 759

Loud (Jahrī) and Silent (Sirrī) Recitation​

❀ In Ẓuhr and ʿAṣr, recitation should be silent.
Abū Maʿmar asked Khabāb ibn al-Aratt رضي الله عنه:

Did the Prophet ﷺ recite in Ẓuhr and ʿAṣr?

He replied: Yes.
They asked: How did you know?
He said: From the movement of his beard.

Reference: al-Bukhārī: 760

❀ In night prayers, the Imam should recite aloud so that the followers can hear.

✔ Jubayr ibn Muṭʿim رضي الله عنه said:

I heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ reciting Sūrah aṭ-Ṭūr in Maghrib.

Reference: al-Bukhārī: 765

✔ al-Barāʾ ibn ʿĀzib رضي الله عنه said:

I heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ reciting Sūrah at-Tīn in ʿIshāʾ.

Reference: al-Bukhārī: 769

✔ ʿAmr ibn Ḥurayth رضي الله عنه said:

I heard him reciting ﴿وَاللَّيْلِ إِذَا عَسْعَسَ﴾ (Sūrah at-Takwīr) in Fajr.

Reference: Muslim: 456

❀ If night prayers are offered as qaḍāʾ during the day, or day prayers as qaḍāʾ during the night, recitation should still be done according to their original ruling:
day prayers silently and night prayers aloud.

Responding to the Imam’s Recitation​

❀ There is no evidence for responding verbally to verses during obligatory prayers. All narrations mentioning responses relate to voluntary (nafl) prayers only.

❀ There is no proof that the follower should respond to the Imam’s recitation during prayer.

Reference: Aḥkām wa Masāʾil by Mubashshir Aḥmad Rabbānī: 180