Sayyiduna Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates from the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that in the Zuhr prayer, he used to hear the recitation of Surah «‏‏‏‏سَبِّحِ اسْمَ رَبِّكَ الْأَعْلَى» ‏‏‏‏ [ سورة الأعلى ] and «‏‏‏‏هَلْ أَتَاكَ حَدِيثُ الْغَاشِيَةِ» ‏‏‏‏ [ سورة الغاشية ] from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) with melody.

In the hadith of Hazrat Ubadah bin Samit (may Allah be pleased with him), it is stated: "The prayer of that person is not valid who does not recite Surah Al-Fatihah." This is evidence that whoever recites Surah Al-Fatihah, his prayer becomes valid. In the hadith of Hazrat Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him), it is stated: "Whoever offered any prayer and did not recite Umm al-Qur'an in it, then that prayer is incomplete and imperfect." This is evidence that whoever recites Surah Al-Fatihah in prayer, his prayer is not incomplete (rather, it is complete).

Hazrat Hanzalah Sudosi says that I said to Hazrat Ikrimah, may Allah have mercy on him, that sometimes in Maghrib prayer I recite «‏‏‏‏قُلْ أَعُوذُ بِرَبِّ الْفَلَقِ» ‏‏‏‏ [ سورة الفلق ] and «‏‏‏‏قُلْ أَعُوذُ بِرَبِّ النَّاسِ» ‏‏‏‏ [ سورة الناس ] , and some people criticize me for this (they blame me), so he (with surprise) said, «‏‏‏‏سُبْحَانَ الله» ‏‏‏‏ "What is wrong in this?" You should recite these two surahs because they are part of the Holy Qur'an. Then he said that Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them both, narrated to me that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, came and he, peace and blessings be upon him, performed two rak'ahs, in which he did not recite any surah except Umm al-Kitab. This is the narration of Muhammad bin Yahya. And Muhammad bin Ziyad narrated these words that «‏‏‏‏أَنَّ أَقوَامَا يعِيبُون» ‏‏‏‏ some people considered it a fault (that is, he narrated the word «‏‏‏‏أَقوَامَا» ‏‏‏‏ in place of «‏‏‏‏نَا سا» ‏‏‏‏, the meaning is the same), and he did not narrate these words, "What is wrong in this?" And he said that Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them both, narrated to me that the Noble Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, stood up and he, peace and blessings be upon him, performed two rak'ahs, in which he did not recite any surah except Surah Al-Fatihah, and after Surah Al-Fatihah he did not recite anything further.

Hazrat Muhammad bin Jubair bin Mut'im narrates from his father, Sayyiduna Jubair bin Mut'im (may Allah be pleased with him), that he heard the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) reciting Surah At-Tur in the Maghrib prayer. The Imam also narrates this hadith through his teachers, Janab Ali bin Khushram and Sa'id bin Abdur Rahman Makhzumi, with the same chain of narration as mentioned above.

Sayyiduna Zaid bin Thabit (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) used to recite the longer of the two longest surahs in the Maghrib prayer.

Hazrat Marwan bin Al-Hakam narrates that Sayyiduna Zaid bin Thabit (may Allah be pleased with him) said to him, "What is the matter with you that you recite the short chapters (Qisar Mufassal) in Maghrib prayer? Indeed, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) used to recite one of the two very long chapters in Maghrib prayer." He says, "I asked, 'Which is the longer of the two longest chapters (that the Prophet, peace be upon him, used to recite)?' He replied, ' «‏‏‏‏سورة الأعراف» ‏‏‏‏'." (Ibn Jurayj) says, "I asked Ibn Abi Mulaykah, 'Which are the longest chapters?' He replied, according to his opinion, ' «‏‏‏‏سورة الأنعام» ‏‏‏‏' and ' «‏‏‏‏سورة الأعراف» ‏‏‏‏'." These are the words of the narration of 'Abd al-Razzaq. Imam Abu Bakr (may Allah have mercy on him) says, "I heard Hazrat Ahmad bin Nasr al-Muqri saying, 'I wish that I could recite «‏‏‏‏سورة الأعراف» ‏‏‏‏ once in Maghrib prayer (acting upon the Sunnah of the Prophet, peace be upon him).'"

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Zaid bin Thabit (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) used to recite «‏‏‏‏سورة الأعراف» ‏‏‏‏ in both rak‘ahs of Maghrib prayer. Imam Abu Bakr (may Allah have mercy on him) says: I do not know of any narrator in this chain who has followed Muhazir bin Mowari‘. The students of Hisham narrate this chain with doubt; they say it is narrated from Sayyiduna Zaid bin Thabit (may Allah be pleased with him) or Sayyiduna Abu Ayyub (may Allah be pleased with him). This doubt occurred to Hisham.

Hisham narrates from his respected father that Sayyiduna Abu Ayyub (may Allah be pleased with him) or Sayyiduna Zayd bin Thabit (may Allah be pleased with him) (Hisham is in doubt) said to Marwan when he was the governor of Madinah Munawwarah, "Indeed, you recite very little in both rak‘ahs of Maghrib prayer. By Allah, indeed the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) used to recite the complete «‏‏‏‏سورة الأعراف» ‏‏‏‏ in both these rak‘ahs." (Hisham) says that I asked my respected father, "What did Marwan use to recite in both these rak‘ahs?" He replied, "He used to recite from the long mufassal (the longer surahs)." Waki‘ and Shu‘aib bin Ishaq have narrated from Hisham in the same way, both narrating with doubt, saying that it is narrated from Sayyiduna Zayd or Sayyiduna Abu Ayyub (may Allah be pleased with them).

Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) narrates from his respected mother, Sayyidah Umm al-Fadl bint al-Harith (may Allah be pleased with her), that she heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) reciting «‏‏‏‏سورة المرسلات» ‏‏‏‏ in the Maghrib prayer. These are the words of the narration of Durraqi. However, (the respected teacher of the Imam), Abdul Jabbar, did not narrate these words: "in the Maghrib prayer" (this surah was heard).

Sulaiman bin Yasar narrates that he heard Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) saying: I have not seen anyone who performed prayer more similar to the prayer of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) than such-and-such governor of Madinah. Sulaiman says: So I also prayed behind this governor (and he used to pray in such a way that) in the first two rak‘ahs of Zuhr he would recite at length, and in the last two rak‘ahs he would recite briefly. And he would make the ‘Asr prayer short. In the first two rak‘ahs of Maghrib prayer, he would recite the short surahs of al-Mufassal, and in the first two rak‘ahs of ‘Isha’ prayer, he would recite the medium-length surahs of al-Mufassal, and in the Fajr prayer, he would recite the long surahs of al-Mufassal.

Imam Abu Bakr (may Allah have mercy on him) says: Regarding recitation, this difference is of the permissible type. It is permissible for the one praying to recite whichever surah of the Qur’an he likes in Maghrib prayer and all other prayers in which recitation beyond Surah al-Fatihah is done; it is not prohibited for him to recite any surah of the Qur’an according to his wish. Except in the case when he is an imam, then it is better for him to recite briefly and not to recite at length and put people to trial (so that they abandon congregational prayer), as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to Mu‘adh bin Jabal (may Allah be pleased with him) for reciting at length:“Do you want to become a source of tribulation?”And as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) has commanded the imams to lead light and brief prayers, he (peace and blessings be upon him) said:“Whoever among you leads the people in prayer should make it light (i.e., should lead a brief prayer).”Soon I will mention all these ahadith or some of them in the Book of Imamah, because the original place for these ahadith is that book.