Please do not recite exceedingly long surahs or long segments of surahs.
Especially if you tend to scrimp on other parts of salaat such as the sujud, the ruku’, or even the silent Faatihah in the third or fourth rakaat.
Explanation.
When standing for too long waiting for your surah recitation to end, blood flow to my brain is impeded by gravity, thus making me feel giddy. Perhaps that’s why (emphasis: my speculation) the salaat has segments where the head is lowered—precisely as a balancing measure to facilitate the return of blood to the head. I stand (no pun intended) strongly in support of restoring this delicate balance.
About the silent Faatihah, those are the only times when everyone can read their Faatihah in relative peace, because otherwise their concentration has to compete against your loud recitation. I admit that I personally find it hard to concentrate on my own recitation when there is some sound in the background. Hence, I place quite a great importance on those silent moments; I want to enjoy my personal invocations of Allah in the Faatihah in my salaat.
Even when granted the quiet, I need a reasonable amount of time to finish my Faatihah, or at least, an amount of time proportionate to the time you take when you drag your sonorous voices to recite the same thing aloud. Often, I am only halfway done with my Faatihah when it’s time to ruku’ already. I am then left with no choice but to hasten my recitation, so as not to lag too far behind everyone else. But of course, hastening the recitations of the word of Allah is something I am reluctant to do.
Proposal.
Follow the ways of the wise imams I’ve encountered who, although reciting from a long surah, recite short segments of it at a time. This is in my opinion a far more considerate and reasonable gesture since it will lead to better blood circulation, and it’s easier on the legs too, especially for the elder segment of jamaah.
At the same time, maintain the same emphasis for every part of salaat. It would be unjust to think that the ‘louder’ parts of salaat are more important than the ‘quieter’ parts, because surely, every part of salaat—every letter spoken, every second in prostration—deserves its time and concentration.
One Comment
I agree with you on EVERYTHING. I like to take my time reading Al-Fatihah too. And you may just be right about why there are segments in the solat where we lower our heads then bring it up again, etc. After all, the orders of Allah are never devoid of wisdom.