How much recitation in the prayer is wajib

Question

Adding a sura in the prayer is wajib. The question is: how much is it wajib to add? Is it wajib to add three short verses, or does one long verse also suffice? And what is called a long verse — how many words must a verse contain for it to be called a long verse?

Answer

One should add one sura, or add three short verses such that the three verses together contain at least thirty (30) letters, for example: [ar]ثُمَّ نَظَرَ ۝ ثُمَّ عَبَسَ وَبَسَرَ ۝ ثُمَّ أَدْبَرَ وَٱسْتَكْبَرَ[/ar] “Then he looked; then he frowned and scowled; then he turned away and was arrogant” (Surah al-Muddaththir, 74:21–23).

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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