Hazrat Abdullah bin Abi Qatadah narrates from his respected father, Sayyiduna Abu Qatadah (may Allah be pleased with him), that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) used to recite Surah Al-Fatihah and another Surah in the first two rak'ahs of Zuhr and Asr prayers, and in the last two rak'ahs he used to recite only Surah Al-Fatihah. Imam Abu Bakr (may Allah have mercy on him) says that for a long time I used to think that regarding the recitation of Surah Al-Fatihah in the last two rak'ahs of Zuhr and Asr prayers, only Aban bin Yazid and Hammam bin Yahya narrated this hadith, as I used to hear from my hadith companions. Then I came to know that the great Imam Awza'i (may Allah have mercy on him) has also mentioned this addition in his narration.

Hazrat Abdullah bin Abi Qatadah narrates from his noble father, Sayyiduna Abu Qatadah (may Allah be pleased with him), that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) used to lead us in the Zuhr and Asr prayers, and in the first two rak‘ahs he would recite Surah Al-Fatihah along with another surah. In the last two rak‘ahs, he would recite only Surah Al-Fatihah. And the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to make the first rak‘ah long, and sometimes he would let us hear one or two verses.

Abu Ma'mar (may Allah have mercy on him) narrates that we asked Khabbab (may Allah be pleased with him), "Did the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) recite (Qur'an) in the Zuhr and Asr prayers?" He replied, "Yes, he did." We asked, "How did you know (that he recited)?" He said, "We would know from the movement of his beard." The narrators of this hadith, Duraqi, Makhzumi, and Abu Kuraib, have narrated with the words "from the movement of his beard."

Imam Sahib narrated through his two respected teachers, Janab Yaqub al-Duraqi and Salm bin Janadah, with the chain from A’mash, similar to the aforementioned narration, and stated these words: "We would know from the movement of the beard of the Prophet (peace be upon him)." Imam Sahib narrated through his respected teacher, Janab Bishr bin Khalid al-Askari, and he stated these words: "From the beard of the Prophet (peace be upon him)."

Abdullah bin Abi Qatadah narrates from his father, Sayyiduna Abu Qatadah (may Allah be pleased with him), that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) used to recite Umm al-Qur’an and along with it two other surahs in the first two rak’ahs of the Zuhr and Asr prayers, and sometimes he would make us hear a verse. And the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to make the first rak’ah of Zuhr long. The narrator of this hadith, Ali bin Sahl, has narrated these words, «‏‏‏‏عن ابيه» ‏‏‏‏ that is, instead of «‏‏‏‏حدثني ابي» ‏‏‏‏“My respected father narrated the hadith to me,”he narrated with the words «‏‏‏‏عن ابيه» ‏‏‏‏. And he also said that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to make the first rak’ah of Zuhr long.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Jabir bin Samurah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the people of Kufa complained to the Commander of the Faithful, Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him), about (their governor) Sayyiduna Sa’d (may Allah be pleased with him) regarding his prayer (that he does not know how to lead the prayer). Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) sent him a message (to come to Madinah), so he presented himself before him. (Sayyiduna Umar, may Allah be pleased with him) mentioned to him the complaint of the people of Kufa regarding his prayer. He said:“Indeed, I lead them in prayer just as the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) used to pray, and I do not fall short in it. I make the first two rak‘ahs long and the last two rak‘ahs short.”So Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said to him:“O Abu Ishaq, this is what I expect of you.”This is the narration of Duraqi, and in the narration of Makhzumi, these words appear «‏‏‏‏واخفف الاخريين» ‏‏‏‏:“I make the last two rak‘ahs lighter, that is, I recite them briefly.”

It is permissible to recite more than Surah Al-Fatihah in the last two rak'ahs of Dhuhr and Asr prayers, and this difference is of the type of permissible differences. This is not a difference where one thing is forbidden and impermissible while the other is permissible and allowed. Therefore, it is permissible to suffice with only the recitation of Surah Al-Fatihah in each of the last two rak'ahs, and it is also permissible to recite more than Surah Al-Fatihah in the last two rak'ahs.

Sayyiduna Abu Sa'id Khudri رضي الله عنه narrates that we used to estimate the standing (qiyam) of the Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم in the first two rak'ahs of Zuhr to be equal to the recitation of «‏‏‏‏الم، تَنزِيلُ الْكِتَابِ» ‏‏‏‏ [ سورۃ السجدہ ] , the recitation of thirty verses. He says: And in the last two rak'ahs, we used to estimate his standing to be half of that (recitation). He says: And in the first two rak'ahs of Asr, we used to estimate his standing to be half of that (recitation of verses). These are the words of the hadith of Ziyad bin Ayyub.

Samaak bin Harb reports that I heard Jabir bin Samurah (may Allah be pleased with him) say that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) used to recite Surah «‏‏‏‏وَاللَّيْلِ إِذَا يَغْشَىٰ» ‏‏‏‏ [ سورة الليل ] and «‏‏‏‏وَالشَّمْسِ وَضُحَاهَا» ‏‏‏‏ [ سورة الشمس ] and similar surahs in Dhuhr and Asr prayers.

Hazrat Abdullah bin Buraidah Aslami narrates from his respected father, Sayyiduna Buraidah (may Allah be pleased with him), that the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to recite Surah «‏‏‏‏إِذَا السَّمَاءُ انشَقَّتْ» ‏‏‏‏ [ سورة الإنشقاق ] and similar surahs in the Zuhr prayer, and in the Fajr prayer he used to recite longer passages than this.