Q. I realize that reading the Qur’an during ruku’ or sujood in prayer is not right. May I ask whether in these situations we can say a supplication that is mentioned in the Qur’an? Also, may I ask if it is appropriate to offer the Sunnah prayer after the lapse of its time, as in qadha?
N. Yahya
A. In prayer, we have to follow the Prophet’s (peace be upon him) example, as he gives us this very clear instruction: “Pray as you have seen me pray.” While the Qur’an is the highest form of dhikr, or mentioning God’s name and glorifying Him, in prayer we read the Qur’an at the time and the position the Prophet indicated for its reading, which is the position of standing up at the beginning of each rak’ah. In the situations you have mentioned, i.e. ruku’ or bowing, and sujood or prostration, we glorify God in the form the Prophet indicated. It is permissible also to add a supplication in these positions, and this could be of the ones included in the Qur’an, but it should be intended as a supplication.
As for offering Sunnah prayer after the lapse of its time, this can be done only in very restricted situations, as in the Sunnah of Fajr that is left out because one arrives in the mosque and finds that the congregational obligatory prayer has already started. In this case, he has to join the congregation. He may then offer the Sunnah either after the congregation has finished or after sunrise. But in other cases, the Sunnah is not offered in compensation.
Suppose that you are at work and you have very limited time for prayer that you use for offering your obligatory prayer. You cannot manage to offer the Sunnah with it. When you go home in the evening, you should not offer the missed Sunnah. What you can do is to pray as many voluntary rak’ahs as you wish. There is no restriction, apart from observing the times when voluntary prayer is discouraged.