Do I need to keep to the order of the Qur’an in recitation?

Assalamu alaykum,

Ibn Abidin explains in his Radd al-Muhtar, that maintaining the order of the Koranic chapters (surahs) is necessary (wajib) when reciting in the obligatory prayer.

To intentionally recite a chapter or verse in the first raka’h that is later in sequence to a chapter or verse in the second raka’h, would be to commit a prohibitively disliked act (makruh tahriman).

However, if this was done unintentionally then it is not disliked. Therefore, it is necessary to maintain ascending order when reciting in the obligatory prayer. There is no harm in reciting out of order in a voluntary prayer.

Fadi Qutub
Amman, Jordan

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