[Q 509] Forgetting Surah After Al-Fatihah

QUESTION:

Zaid, in the first rak‘ah of the fardh Zuhr prayer, forgot to recite a Surah after Surah Al-Fatihah, and remembered it in ruku‘. What is the Shar‘i ruling for this situation?

ANSWER:

According to the mentioned scenario, it is Wajib for Zaid to return to the standing position, recite the Surah, perform the ruku‘ again, and at the end perform Sajdah Sahw (prostration of forgetfulness). In this manner, his prayer will be completed correctly.

However, if despite remembering in ruku‘ he does not return, then due to intentionally leaving the Wajib act of reciting the Surah, the prayer will become Wajib al-I‘adah (necessary to be repeated), meaning it will be obligatory to repeat the prayer, and Sajdah Sahw will not suffice.

It should also be remembered that repeating the ruku‘ will be binding upon the worshipper. If he does return but after completing the recitation does not repeat the ruku‘, then the prayer will become invalid, because due to the Fard (obligatory) nature of maintaining order between recitation and ruku‘, the first ruku‘ becomes null, and repeating it becomes obligatory.

If an individual or an Imam forgets to recite Surah Al-Fatihah or a Surah along with it, then returning is necessary and the first ruku‘ will be rendered void, as mentioned in Bada’i‘ al-Sana’i‘:
“لوتذکر فی الرکوع او بعد ما رفع رأسه منه أنه ترک الفاتحة أو السورۃ یعود وینتقض رکوعه”

(Bada’i‘ al-Sana’i‘, Kitab al-Salah, Chapter on Qunut, Vol. 2, p. 234, Dar al-Hadith, Cairo, Beirut)

Regarding Sajdah Sahw, Fatawa ‘Alamgiri states:
“لو قرأ الفاتحة و آیتین فخر راکعاً ساھیاً ثم تذکر عاد و أتم ثلاث آیات و عليه سجود السھو”

(Fatawa ‘Alamgiri, Kitab al-Salah, Vol. 1, p. 126, printed in Peshawar)

If after returning to the standing position one does not perform the Fard (obligatory) pillar of ruku‘ again, then the prayer will become invalid, as stated in Rad al-Muhtar of ibn Abidin:
“(لو تذكرها) أي السورة (فی رکوعه قرأها) أي بعد عوده إلى القيام (وأعاد الركوع) لأن ما يقع من القراءة في الصلاة يكون فرضاً فيرتفض الركوع ويلزمه إعادته لأن الترتيب بين القراءة والركوع فرض كما مر بيانه في الواجبات، حتى لو لم يعده تفسد صلاته.”

(Radd al-Muhtar ‘ala al-Durr al-Mukhtar, Kitab al-Salah, Vol. 2, p. 311, printed in Quetta, summarized)

If a worshipper forgets the recitation and goes into ruku‘, then if he remembers before going into sajdah, returning is Wajib (necessary). As mentioned in Fatawa Ridawiyyah:
“If the forgotten verses are not remembered until going into sajdah, then Sajdah Sahw will suffice. But if they are remembered before going into sajdah—whether in ruku‘ or in the standing position after ruku‘—then it is Wajib (necessary) to complete the recitation and repeat the ruku‘. If the recitation is not completed, then it will again be a deliberate omission of a Wajib (necessary) act, and repeating the prayer will be required. And if the recitation is completed after ruku‘ but the ruku‘ is not repeated, then the prayer itself will be nullified due to leaving a Fard (obligatory) act.”

(Fatawa Ridawiyyah, Vol. 6, p. 330, Raza Foundation, Lahore, summarized)

Objection: In this issue, some people have the misconception that adding a Surah is Wajib (necessary) and ruku‘ is Fard (obligatory), and one cannot move from a Fard (obligatory) act to a Wajib (necessary) act. Rather, they consider that maintaining the prayer and merely performing Sajdah Sahw at the end is sufficient.

Response to the Objection: Reciting the Qur’an in prayer (even if it is only one verse) is, due to the absolute wording of the blessed verse ﴿فَاقْرَءُوۡا مَا تَیَسَّرَ مِنَ الْقُرْاٰنِ﴾, in the ruling of Fard (obligatory). Therefore, if a worshipper forgets to recite a Surah after Surah Al-Fatihah and goes into ruku‘, then upon remembering he will return to the standing position and recite the Surah. Because although adding a Surah is Wajib (necessary), recitation itself is fundamentally Fard (obligatory). Hence, this return is considered moving from one Fard (obligatory) to another Fard (obligatory), not from Fard (obligatory) to Wajib (necessary).

The command of recitation is absolute; therefore, whatever verses of the Surah are recited upon returning from ruku‘ to the standing position will all be considered Fard (obligatory) recitation. Imam Ahl al-Sunnah, Shaykh Imam Ahmad Rida Khan رحمة اللہ عليه states:
“أقول:۔۔۔ القرآن كلما قرئ لا يقع إلا فرضا لإطلاق ﴿فَاقْرَءُوۡا مَا تَیَسَّرَ مِنَ الْقُرْاٰنِ﴾المزمل:20 ولذا جاز العود من الركوع إلى قراءة السورة، فافهم.”
Meaning: The Qur’an, whenever it is recited, is only counted as Fard (obligatory) due to the absolute nature of the verse of Surah al-Muzzammil, verse 20: “Recite from the Qur’an whatever is easy for you.” This is why returning from ruku‘ to the recitation of the Surah is permissible; so understand this well.

(Jadd al-Mumtar, Vol. 7, p. 267, Maktabah al-Madinah, Karachi)

Returning itself is Wajib (necessary), but by reciting the Surah again along with Surah Al-Fatihah, all of it becomes Fard (obligatory), as ‘Allama ibn Abidin further explains this verified point in detail with additional reasoning:
“(قوله لوجوب تقديمها) أي ‌تقديم ‌قراءة ‌الواجب. أما قراءة الفرض فتقديمها على الركوع فرض لا ينجبر بسجود السهو… إلى آخره”

(Rad al-Muhtar, Bab Sajdah Sahw, Vol. 2, p. 80, printed in Beirut)

Answered by: Qazi Muteeb Attari (AskMufti Scholar)