Prayer (Kitab Al-Salat)
كتاب الصلاة
Chapter 280: Recitation In Zuhr
مَا جَاءَ فِي الْقِرَاءَةِ فِي الظُّهْرِ
We thought that by this (prolonging the first rak’ah). He (the prophet) meant that the people might join the first rak’ah.
We asked Khabbab: Did the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) recit (the Quran) in the noon and afternoon prayers? He replied: Yes. We then asked: How did you know this? He said: By the shaking of his beard, may peace be upon him.
The prophet (ﷺ) used to stand in the rak’ah of prayer so much so that no sound of steps heard.
Chapter 281: Shorting The Last Two Rak'ah
تَخْفِيفِ الأُخْرَيَيْنِ
’Umar said to Sa’d: people complain against you for everything, even for prayer. He replied: I prolong the first two rak’ahs of prayer and make the last two rak’ahs brief; I do not fall short of following the prayer offered by the Messenger of Allah(May peace be upon him). He said: I think so about you.
We used to estimate how long the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) stood in the noon and the afternoon prayer, and we estimated that he stood in the first two rak’ahs of the noon prayer as long as it takes to recite thirty verses (of the Qur’an), such as A-L-M Tanzil al-Sajdah. And we estimated that he stood in the last two rak’ahs half the time he stood in the first two rak’ahs. We estimated that he stood in the first two rak’ahs of the afternoon prayer as long as he did in the last two at noon; and we estimated that he stood in the last two rak’ahs of the afternoon prayer half the time he did in first two.
Chapter 282: The Amount Of Recitation In Zuhr and 'Asr
قَدْرِ الْقِرَاءَةِ فِي صَلاَةِ الظُّهْرِ وَالْعَصْرِ
The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) used to recite in the noon and afternoon prayer: "By the Heaven and the Morning Star" (Surah 86) and "By the Heaven , holding mansions of the stars" (Surah 85) and similar surahs of equal length.
When the sun declined, the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) offered the noon prayer and recited surahs lie "By the night when it covers over" (92) and (recited similar surahs) in the afternoon prayer, and in the other prayers except the dawn prayer which he used to prolong.
Ibn ‘Isa said: No one narrated this tradition to Umayyah except Mu’tamir.
Abdullah ibn Ubaydullah said: I went to Ibn Abbas accompanying some youths of Banu Hashim. We said to one of them: Ask Ibn Abbas: Did the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) recite (the Qur'an) in the noon and afternoon prayers? He replied: No. People said to him: Perhaps he might recite the Qur'an quietly. He said: May your face be scratched (a kind of curse)! This (statement) is worse than the former.
He was only a servant (of Allah) receiving Commands from Him. He preached (the divine) message which he brought with him. He did not command anything to us (Banu Hashim) specially excluding other people except three points: he commanded us to perform ablution perfectly, and not to accept charity (sadaqah) and not to make pairing of donkey with horse.
I do not know whether the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) would recite the Qur'an at the noon and afternoon prayer or not.
Chapter 283: The Amount Of Recitation In Maghrib
قَدْرِ الْقِرَاءَةِ فِي الْمَغْرِبِ
I heard Ibn’Abbas reciting wa’l-mursalat urfan(surah lxxxvii). She said; sonny you have reminded me of this surah by your recitation. Thie is the last surah which I heard the Messenger of Allah(ﷺ) reciting in the sunset prayer.
I heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) reciting al-Tur(surah lii) in the sunset prayer.
Zaid b. Thabit asked me: Why do you recite short surahs in the sunset prayer? I saw the Messenger of Allah (May peace be upon him) reciting two long surahs at the sunset prayers. I asked him: which are those two long surahs? He replied: Al-A’raf(surah vii) and al-an’am(surah vi). I ( the narrator Ibn Juraij) asked Ibn Mulaikah (about these surahs): He said on his own accord: Al-ma’idah (surah v.) and al-A’raf(furah vii.)
Chapter 284: Those Who Claimed A Lesser Amount (Should Be Recited)
مَنْ رَأَى التَّخْفِيفَ فِيهَا
This indicates that those (traditions indicating long surahs) are abrogated, and this is more sound tradition.
There is no short or long surah in al-Mufassal which I have not heard the Messenger of Allah (May peace be upon him) reciting when he led the people in the prescribed prayer.
He is Allah, the One” (Surah 112).
Chapter 285: A Person Repeating The Same Surah In Both the Rak'ah
الرَّجُلِ يُعِيدُ سُورَةً وَاحِدَةً فِي الرَّكْعَتَيْنِ
A man of Juhaynah told him that he had heard the Prophet (ﷺ) reciting "When the earth is shaken" (Surah 99) in both rak'ahs of the morning prayer. But I do not know whether he had forgotten, or whether he recited it on purpose.
Chapter 286: The Recitation Of Al-Fajr
الْقِرَاءَةِ فِي الْفَجْرِ
As if I am hearing the voice of the prophet (may peace by upon him) who would recite at the morning prayer “Oh, but I call to witness the planets, the stars which rise and set”(surah 81:15-16)
Chapter 287: The One Who Did Not Recite The Faithah In His Prayer
مَنْ تَرَكَ الْقِرَاءَةَ فِي صَلاَتِهِ بِفَاتِحَةِ الْكِتَابِ
we were commanded to recite Fatihat al-kitab and whatever was convenient (from the Qur’an during the prayer).
Go out and announce in medina that prayer is not valid but the recitation of the Qur’an even though it might be fatihat al-kitab and something more.