Abu Ma'mar says: We asked Sayyiduna Khabbab (may Allah be pleased with him): Did the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) recite (Qur'an) in Zuhr and Asr prayers? He replied: Yes. We asked: How did you recognize this? He said: By the movement of his beard.

Abdullah bin Ubaidullah bin Abbas says: I and some young men from the Quraysh went to Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) and asked this question: Did the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) recite (aloud) in Zuhr and Asr prayers? He said: No. They said: Perhaps the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) recited in his heart. He said: May your face be disfigured, this is even worse, because the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was a commanded servant, whatever he was sent with, he conveyed it, and the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) did not make anything specific for us among the people except for these three things: He (peace and blessings be upon him) commanded us to perform ablution well, not to eat charity, and not to mount a donkey on a mare (to produce a mule).

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, who says that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, would recite aloud in some prayers and remain silent in others. Therefore, we recite aloud in those prayers in which the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, recited aloud, and we remain silent in those in which he remained silent. Someone said to him: Perhaps the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, used to recite in his heart. But he became angry and said: Is an accusation being made against the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him?

Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) says: I have memorized all the Sunnahs, but I do not know whether the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) used to recite (aloud) in the Zuhr and Asr prayers or not. In any case, we do recite, and I also do not know how he used to recite this verse: {وَقَدْ بَلَغْتُ مِنْ الْکِبَرِ عِتِیًّایا عُسِیًّا۔}

Matlub bin Abdullah says: There was a discussion among the people regarding recitation in Zuhr and Asr prayers. They sent a message to Kharijah bin Zaid (to decide the matter). He said: My father narrated that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) used to stand for a long time and move his lips. I knew that this movement was only for the purpose of recitation.

A companion of the Messenger narrates: In the Zuhr prayer, the recitation of the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was recognized by the movement of his beard.

Sayyiduna Abu Sa'id Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him) says: We used to estimate the standing (qiyam) of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) in Zuhr and Asr prayers, so we estimated that in the first two rak'ahs of Zuhr, the standing of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) was equal to the recitation of thirty verses, that is, equal to the recitation of Surah As-Sajdah. And we estimated his standing in the second two rak'ahs to be half of that. We estimated his standing in the first two rak'ahs of Asr to be equal to half of the first two rak'ahs of Zuhr. And in the second two rak'ahs, we estimated it to be half of the first two.

Qaza’ah says: I came to Sayyiduna Abu Sa’id (may Allah be pleased with him), and there were many people with him. When he separated from them, I said: I have not come to ask about what these people were questioning; I want to ask you about the prayer of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). He said: There is no good in that for you. But when I repeated my request, he said: The Zuhr prayer would be established, one of us would go towards Baqi’, relieve himself, then come home and perform ablution, then come to the mosque, and the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) would still be in the first rak’ah.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abi Awfa (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) would remain standing in the first rak‘ah of Zuhr until he would not hear the sound of anyone’s (entering) footsteps.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Jabir bin Samurah, may Allah be pleased with him, that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him and his family, used to recite Surah Al-A'la and similar surahs in the Zuhr prayer, and longer surahs than these in the Fajr prayer.