He used to recite at the end of the Morning (Subh) prayer the end of Surat Al-Imran and the end of Surat Al-Furqan, as narrated by al-Khallal with his chain of transmission. From Ibrahim al-Nakha'i, he said: Our companions used to recite part of a surah during the obligatory prayer, then bow, then rise and recite from another surah. The statement of Abu Barzah that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) used to recite in the Morning prayer between sixty (13) to one hundred verses is evidence that he did not restrict himself to reciting [only] a complete surah. The second narration is that this is disliked. Al-Marrudhi narrated from Ahmad that he used to dislike reciting the end of a surah in the obligatory prayer (14). He said: A [complete] surah is more pleasing to me. Al-Marrudhi said: Abu Abd Allah [Ahmad] had a relative who would lead him in prayer, and he would recite at the end of the surah during the second rak'ah of the Fajr prayer. When he did this often, Abu Abd Allah said: You go forward and lead the prayer. I said to him: How long has he been leading you! He said: Leave him, he keeps coming with the ends of surahs. He disliked it. Perhaps Ahmad only desired to follow the Prophet (peace be upon him) in what was narrated from him, and he disliked persisting in the contrary. What is narrated from the Prophet (peace be upon him) is the recitation of a surah or part of a surah from its beginning, so he liked following the Prophet (peace be upon him) and did not like opposing him. It was reported from him regarding a man who recites from the middle of surahs and their ends, that he said: As for the ends of surahs, I hope [it is permissible], but as for their middle, I do not. Perhaps in the case of the end of a surah, he relied on what was narrated therein from Abd Allah [ibn Mas'ud] and his companions, whereas nothing similar was reported regarding their middle. Al-Athram narrated from him, saying: I said to Abu Abd Allah: Should a man recite the end of a surah in the rak'ah? He said: Has there not been a concession reported regarding this from Abd al-Rahman ibn Yazid (15) and others? As for reciting part of a surah from its beginning, there is no disagreement that it is not disliked; for the Prophet (peace be upon him) recited from Surat al-Mu'minun until he reached the mention of Musa and Harun, then he was taken by a cough, so he bowed (16), and he recited Surat al-A'raf in the prayer of

Maghrib, splitting it into two parts. It was narrated by al-Nasa'i (17).

Section: There is no harm in combining surahs in the supererogatory (nafilah) prayer; for the Prophet (peace be upon him) recited in one rak'ah Surat al-Baqarah, Al-Imran, and al-Nisa' (18). Ibn Mas'ud said: I have certainly known the pairs that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) used to join together. He then mentioned twenty surahs from the Mufassal, two surahs in one rak'ah. This is agreed upon (19). Uthman, may Allah be pleased with him, used to complete the entire Quran in one rak'ah, and this has been narrated from a group of the Successors (Tabi'in). As for the obligatory prayer, it is recommended to restrict oneself to a surah along with the Fatihah, without adding more to it; because the Prophet (peace be upon him) used to pray most of his prayers this way, and he commanded Mu'adh to recite in his prayer in the same manner (20). If one joins two surahs in one rak'ah, there are two narrations: The first is that it is disliked for that reason, and the second is that it is not disliked, because the hadith of Abd Allah ibn Mas'ud is absolute regarding prayer, and it is possible that he intended