if he does so as an act of worship, by repeating it, there is no doubt that he has done something disliked. For had this been good, the Prophet ﷺ would have done it. But if he repeats al-Fatihah not as an act of worship, but because he omitted a recommended aspect, then the apparent ruling is that it is permissible. For example, he may repeat it because he forgot and recited it silently in a situation where reciting aloud is prescribed—as sometimes happens to some imams, who forget and recite al-Fatihah silently. In this case, we say: There is nothing wrong with his repeating it from the beginning, in order to make up for having omitted the prescribed audible recitation.
Likewise, if he recited it without presence of heart and wishes to repeat it so that his heart may be present in the subsequent recitation, this is a repetition for the sake of something legislatively intended, namely, presence of heart. But if he fears that this will open the door to misgivings, then he should not do so. For when this door is opened for some people, it opens for them the door to excessive misgivings: if he recites it and is inattentive during a single verse, he repeats it; then, if he is inattentive when repeating it, he repeats it a second, a third, and a fourth time. A person may be strict with himself, and so Allah may make matters strict for him. He may be inattentive regarding one verse the first time, then inattentive regarding two or three verses the second time.
COMBINING SURAHHS IN AN OBLIGATORY PRAYER IS NOT DISLIKED, JUST AS IT IS NOT DISLIKED IN A VOLUNTARY PRAYER.
His statement, “Combining surahs in an obligatory prayer is not disliked, just as it is not disliked in a voluntary prayer,” means that combining surahs in an obligatory prayer is not disliked, just as it is not disliked in a voluntary prayer. That is, one may recite two or more surahs after al-Fatihah.
The evidence is the hadith of Hudhayfah ibn al-Yaman ﵁: he prayed with the Prophet ﷺ one night, and the Prophet ﷺ recited Surat al-Baqarah, Surat al-Nisa’, and Surat Al ‘Imran. (1) This is combining surahs in a voluntary prayer. Whatever is permissible in a voluntary prayer is permissible in an obligatory prayer unless there is evidence to the contrary; and whatever is obligatory in an obligatory prayer is obligatory in a voluntary prayer unless there is evidence to the contrary, because the basic principle is that their rulings are the same.