Answered by Sidi Fadi Qutub Zada
I was told when I was taught to pray that, when reciting the surahs after Surah Fatihah that these surahs must be recited in the order that they are in the Qur’an. So that when reading 2 rak’as the first rak’a you could read Surah Al-Ikhlas and then the 2nd you would have to read Surah An-Nas or Surah Al-Falaq. Could your please clarify this.
In the name of Allah, most Gracious and Merciful
Assalamu Alaykum,
Reciting the suras in the order that they are in the Qur’an is necessary (wajib) in the obligatory prayer. Deliberately reciting in a reversed order is prohibitively disliked (makruh tahriman). It is also prohibitively disliked to deliberately leave out a sura between two suras. For example, if one recites surat al-Ikhlas in the first prayer cycle, than one must necessarily recite surat al-Falaq in the second prayer cycle. If one recites surat al-Masad instead, or surat al-Nas, than it would be prohibitively disliked (on the condition that one does so deliberately). This is because in the first example, one recites in reverse, and in the second example, one leaves out a sura (surat al-Falaq) between two suras. None of this is disliked in the voluntary (nafl) prayer. [Durr al-Mukhtar, Radd al-Muhtar, page 367 volume 1]
And Allah knows best
Fadi Qutub