Reciting one sura across two rak‘as

Question

An imam, in the morning prayer, recited the first ruku‘ of Surat al-Dahr in the first rak‘a and the second ruku‘ in the second rak‘a; that is, he led both rak‘as with the two ruku‘s of one and the same sura, rather than reciting a separate complete sura in each rak‘a. The question is: if someone completes two rak‘as within one long sura, will the prayer be valid or not? Some people hold that the prayer did not count in this way, and they consider it necessary to finish a sura within a single rak‘a.

Answer

It is better (afdal) to recite a complete sura in each rak‘a. However, in the case asked about the prayer did not become fasid (invalid); and whoever calls it fasid, that view of his is itself fasid. For this is established from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ himself: the Messenger of Allah ﷺ led two rak‘as with the sura “Idha zulzilat al-ard” (إِذَا زُلْزِلَتِ ٱلْأَرْضُ)

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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