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There are some imams in the mosques who recite Surat al-Insaan in the first and second rak’ahs of Fajr prayer on Friday, and some who recite Surat al-Sajdah in the first and second rak’ahs. Some of them recite half of Surat al-Sajdah in the first rak’ah and half of Surat al-Insaan in the second. Is what they do correct? Should we tell them that what they are doing is bid’ah (an innovation)?.
Praise be to Allah.
We cannot say that what they are doing is bid’ah, but we can say that what they are doing is playing with the Sunnah. If they were really sincere about following the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) then let them do what he did. Hence Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him) described people like this as ignorant imams. We say: If you are able to recite Surat al-Sajdah in the first rak’ah and Surat al-Insaan in the second, then do that. If you are not able to do that then recite another soorah so that you will not be dividing the Sunnah and toying with it. The Sunnah is known: the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) used to recite Surat al-Sajdah in the first rak’ah of Fajr on Friday and Surat al-Insaan in the second rak’ah. So you should either do what the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) did, or recite another soorah, because dividing or separating what the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) did is going against the Sunnah and is undoubtedly toying with the Sunnah. Follow the guidance of your Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and be courageous, because if you recite Surat al-Sajdah in the first rak’ah and Surat al-Insaan in the second, some imams will say, “Why did you recite for so long? The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) got angry with Mu’aadh (may Allah be pleased with him) and rebuked him for that.”
But we say: Everything that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) did was reasonable and not heavy, even if he recited Surat al-Sajdah and al-Insaan. Hence Anas ibn Maalik (may Allah be pleased with him) said: “I never prayed behind any imam whose prayer was lighter and more complete than the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him).”