[Q 395] Mistaken Surah Order During Salah

Question:

When reading Salah if a person  read Surah Lahab in the first Rak’ah and due to forgetfulness in the second Rak’ah he started reading Surah Kawthar, and when he read either 1 ayah or even half an ayah he realised his mistake — what should he do now? Should he continue his surah and finish Salah, or should he stop that surah and read a different surah in the correct order? Also, does he have to do sajdah sahw?

بسم اللہ الرحمن الرحیم

الجواب بعون الملک الوھاب اللھم ھدایة الحق والصواب

ANSWER:

If a person, out of forgetfulness, starts reciting Surah Kawthar in the second Rak‘ah after having recited Surah Lahab in the first, then even after realising the mistake — whether after reciting one full verse or even less — the ruling is that he should continue and complete that same Surah (i.e., Surah Kawthar). He should not leave it to recite another Surah in correct order.

In this case, sajdah sahw (prostration of forgetfulness) is not required.

Sayyidi Imam us-Sunnat, Imam Ahmad Rida Khan رحمه اللہ تعالی writes on this matter: “Intentionally doing this (i.e. reciting the Qur’an out of the order) is prohibited and impermissible, and there is a stern warning in hadith regarding it. However, if it occurred unintentionally — for example, in the first Rak’ah Surah Nasr was recited, and in the second, intending to recite Surah Falaq, the tongue mistakenly started with ‘قل یأیھا الکفرون’ — then in such a case, Surah Kāfirūn should be completed, and one should not shift to another Surah. Because leaving it without necessity is Makruh (disliked) and switching would turn a non-disliked act into a disliked one — and that is clear as you know.”

(Fatawa Radawiyyah, Volume 6, Page 267)

Translation checked by Muhammad Aqib Attari

Date: 14th April 2025.