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Fatwa CenterDeliberately leaving recitation of a Surah after Al-Faatihah in prayer
Question
The Imaam in the second Rak‘ah of Maghrib prayer did not recite a Surah after Al-Faatihah and then he bowed and prostrated normally. After the third Rak‘ah, the Imaam ended his prayer with Tasleem without performing Sujood as-Sahw. We asked the Imaam to perform Sujood as-Sahw but he told us that there was no need for it. He informed us that he deliberately abstained from reciting a Surah after Al-Faatihah and that what he did was permissible. What is the religious ruling on not reciting a Surah after Al-Faatihah intentionally in the second Rak‘ah of Maghrib prayer?May Allaah The Exalted Reward you
Answer
All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad 
is His slave and Messenger.
It is disliked for a worshipper to deliberately not recite a Surah after Al-Faatihah in the first and second Rak‘ah of a prayer. Whoever does so will be abandoning a Sunnah according to the majority of Muslim scholars. The Imaam in such a case should not perform Sujood as-Sahw since it is prescribed to compensate for a worshipper's forgetfulness in the prayer.
However, if the worshipper deliberately neglected an obligation or a pillar of the prayer, his prayer is considered invalid and performing Sujood as-Sahw does not compensate for such a mistake.
If a worshipper neglects a Sunnah, his prayer is valid despite his mistake. However, even then, Sujood as-Sahw is not prescribed in such a case to compensate for such error.
Allaah Knows best.
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