Under Hanafi law the first two rak‘ahs of an obligatory prayer include additional Quranic recitation after al-Fatihah as wajib. This may take the form of a surah or a prescribed amount of verses.
The text’s “a surah with it” and “or three verses” describe alternatives for additional recitation, not alternatives to reading al-Fatihah itself.
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Seeking Refuge, Basmalah, Recitation and Ameen
Under Hanafi law the first two rak‘ahs of an obligatory prayer include additional Quranic recitation after al-Fatihah as wajib. This may take the form of a surah or a prescribed amount of verses.
The text’s “a surah with it” and “or three verses” describe alternatives for additional recitation, not alternatives to reading al-Fatihah itself.