What are the Mufaṣṣal in the Qurʾān?

What should you be reciting in each prayer? (an extract from the upcoming translation of Al-Fiqh al-Manhajī ʿalā Madhhab al-Imām ash-Shāfiʿī)

8. Reciting Some Portion of the Qurʾān after the Fātiḥah:

The sunnah is realised by reciting a sūrah of the Qurʾān, however short it may be, or by reciting three consecutive verses.

It is only recommended in the first two units of any prayer, whether one be the imam or praying alone. As for the one praying behind an imam, it is recommended in quiet prayers or when he is too far away to hear the imam’s recitation.

In the ṣubḥ and ẓuhr prayers, it recommended to recite the sūrahs that are known as ṭiwāl[1] al-mufaṣṣal, such as al-Ḥujurāt (49) and ar-Raḥmān (55). In the ʿaṣr and ʿishāʾ prayers, it is recommended to recite the awāṣit[2] al-mufaṣsāl, such as ash-Shams (91) and al-Layl (92). In the maghrib prayer, the qiṣār[3] al-mufaṣṣal are recommended, such as al-Ikhlāṣ (112).[4] This is due to the ḥadīth of an-Nasāʾī (2/127) on the authority of Sulaymān ibn Yasār from Abū Hurayrah t, who said, ‘I have not prayed behind anyone whose prayer resembled that of Allah’s Messenger e more than that of so-and-so. We prayed behind him and he would make the first two units of ẓuhr long and the later two light. He would make ʿasr light and he would recite the qiṣār al-mufaṣṣal in maghrib. In ʿishāʾ he would recite Wa sh-shamsī wa ḍuḥāhā[5] and similar sūrahs and in ṣubḥ he would recite two long sūrahs’.

 

It is also recommended to recite Ālif Lām Mīm Tanzīl, i.e. Sūrat as-Sajdah (32) in the first unit of the dawn prayer on Friday and Hal Atā[6] in the second unit.

This is due to what has been related by al-Bukhārī (851), as well as Muslim (880), on the authority of Abū Hurayrah t, who said, ‘In the fajr prayer on Friday, the Prophet e would recite Ālif Lām Mīm Tanzīl – i.e. as-Sajdah – and Hal Atā ʿAlā l-Insān.

It is recommended to make the first unit longer than the second in all prayers, due to what has been related by al-Bukhārī (725) and Muslim (451): ‘The Prophet e…would recite at length in the first and shorten his recitation in the second.’

[Translated from Al-Fiqh al-Manhajī ʿalā Madhhab al-Imām ash-Shāfiʿī (Damascus: Dār al-ʿUlūm al-Insāniyyah, 1410/1989), 1:152-153]

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[1] (tn): i.e. long.

[2] (tn): i.e. medium length.
[3] (tn): i.e. short.

[4] (tn): these sūrahs are called mufaṣṣal for a few reasons. According to Imam an-Nawawī, it is because there are frequent breaks (fuṣūl) between the sūrahs (i.e. the sūrahs are shorter), while it has also been said that there are very few abrogated verses therein. The imam also states that they start from Sūrat al-Ḥujurāt and continue through to the end of the Qurʾān. See Daqāʾiq al-Minhāj (Beirut: Dār Ibn Ḥazm, 1416/1997), 43. Imam Shams ad-Dīn ar-Ramlī says that mufaṣṣal means mubīn, i.e. made clear, and he quotes Sūrat Fuṣṣilat: “A Book whose verses have been made clear (fuṣṣilat).” [41:3] That is, the details of different meanings have been brought about. See Nihāyat al-Muḥtāj ilā Sharḥ al-Minhāj (Beirut: Dār al-Kutub al-ʿIlmiyyah, 1424/2003) 1:495. As for which sūrahs therein are long, medium length, or short, Imam Ibn Ḥajar al-Haytamī says that the ṭiwāl are from Sūrat al-Ḥujurāt to Sūrat an-Nabaʾ, the awāsiṭ (or awsāṭ) are from an-Nabaʾ to Sūrat ad-Ḍuḥā, and the qiṣār are from ad-Ḍuḥā to the end. This is the dominant position. See Tuḥfat al-Muḥtāj bi Sharḥ al-Minhāj (Cairo: Dār al-Ḥadīth, 1437/2016) 1:246.

[5] (tn): i.e. Sūrat ash-Shams (91).
[6] (tn): i.e. Sūrat al-Insān (76).