The evidence for this principle is that, when the Companions described the Prophet’s ﷺ prayer on his mount while travelling, and his performing the witr prayer upon it, they said: “Except that he did not perform the prescribed prayer upon it.” (1) Had the obligatory prayer not been analogous to the voluntary prayer, this exception would have served no purpose. Thus, when they said, “Except that he did not perform the prescribed prayer upon it,” we know that they understood that whatever is established concerning a voluntary prayer is also established concerning an obligatory prayer; otherwise, there would have been no need for the exception. Accordingly, we say: There is nothing wrong with a person combining two or more surahs in an obligatory prayer.

Question: Is it permissible to divide a surah between two rak‘ahs, or not?

Answer: It is permissible, unless what remains is connected to what came before. In that case, one should not do so. For example, if he says:

“Say, He is Allah, the One; Allah, the Eternal Refuge,” then says, “He neither begets...” [al-Ikhlas: 1–3]

then he should not stop at this point, because the flow of speech is interrupted. But if there is no such problem in stopping, then there is nothing wrong with it.

The evidence for this is that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ recited Surat al-A‘raf in the Maghrib prayer, dividing it between the two rak‘ahs. (2) This indicates that it is permissible to divide a surah between two rak‘ahs. However, one should observe the prescribed degree of length, moderation, or brevity, as is known from the beginning of the discussion on the manner of prayer. (3)

Question: Should one recite from the middle of a surah, or not?