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Fatwa CenterOnly Surah Al-Faatihah Is to Be Recited in Third and Fourth Rak’ahs of Prayer
Question
Do I have recite a Surah after Surah Al-Fatiha in the last two Rakah?
Answer
All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah, and that Muhammad 
is His slave and Messenger.
Reciting Soorah al-Faatihah is an integral part of the prayer so it should be recited in every Rak’ah. Reciting some other verses of the Quran after al-Faatihah is also recommended in the first two Rak’ahs of a prayer. It is sufficient to recite only Soorah al-Faatihah during the third and fourth Rak’ahs of Prayer since the Prophet most of the time, used to recite only Soorah al-Faatihah in the last two Rak’ahs.
Imam Muslim narrates from Abu Qataadah that “The Prophet would recite al-Faatihah and some Soorah in the first two Rak’ahs of the Thuhr Prayer, and only al-Faatihah in the last two Rak’ahs. Sometimes he would recite some verses loudly and we would hear them. The first Rak'ah's recital would be longer than the second.”
Reciting some other part of the Quran after finishing Soorah al-Faatihah during the last two Rak’ahs is also permitted. This rule is based on what is understood from the Hadeeth of Abu Sa’eed al-Khudri that the Prophet used to recite equal to thirty verses in the first two Rak’ahs of the Thuhr Prayer and equal to fifteen verses in the last two Rak’ahs of that Prayer. In the first two Rak’ahs of ‘Asr Prayer, he used to recite half of the verses he used to recite in Thuhr, that means fifteen verses. And he used to recite in the last two Rak’ahs of ‘Asr equal to half the verses he had recited in the first two Rak’ahs of that Prayer. Soorah al-Faatihah contains only seven verses. Reciting half of the fifteen verses means reciting Soorah al-Faatihah only.
The Prophet also ordered the Muslims by saying: “Perform the Prayer as you observe me performing it.” [Al-Bukhari]
Allah knows best.
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