In this regard, the Imam has narrated from his respected teacher, Muhammad bin Alaa, with the chain of narration from Sayyiduna Zaid bin Thabit (may Allah be pleased with him).

It is narrated from Muhammad bin Abdur Rahman that he heard Urwah bin Zubair saying that Sayyiduna Zaid bin Thabit (may Allah be pleased with him) said to Marwan bin Hakam: "O Abu Abdur Malik, do you recite «‏‏‏‏قُلْ هُوَ اللَّهُ أَحَدٌ» ‏‏‏‏ [ سورة الإخلاص ] and «‏‏‏‏إِنَّا أَعْطَيْنَاكَ الْكَوْثَرَ» ‏‏‏‏ [ سورة الكوثر ] in Maghrib prayer?" He replied, "Yes." Sayyiduna Zaid bin Thabit (may Allah be pleased with him) said, "Then an oath can be sworn, indeed I saw the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) begin the recitation in Maghrib prayer with the longer of the two longest surahs, «‏‏‏‏سورة الأعراف» ‏‏‏‏." Imam Abu Bakr (may Allah have mercy on him) says: "I have already dictated to you the narration of Hisham from his noble father Urwah from Sayyiduna Zaid bin Thabit (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace be upon him) used to recite «‏‏‏‏سورة الأعراف» ‏‏‏‏ in both rak‘ahs of Maghrib prayer." In the narration of Muhammad bin Abdur Rahman, it is stated: "The Prophet (peace be upon him) used to recite «‏‏‏‏سورة الأعراف» ‏‏‏‏ in both." What he means is that the Prophet (peace be upon him) used to recite (the same surah) in both rak‘ahs.

Sayyiduna Hudhayfah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that I prayed one night with the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). When he began the recitation, he recited one hundred verses. I thought to myself that he (peace be upon him) would bow (for ruku‘). Then he continued reciting up to two hundred verses. I thought to myself that (now) he (peace be upon him) would bow, but he (peace be upon him) continued reciting until he completed the surah. I thought that now he (peace be upon him) would bow, (but) he (peace be upon him) then began «‏‏‏‏سورة النساء» ‏‏‏‏. After reciting the complete surah, when he (peace be upon him) bowed, in my opinion, his bowing was as long as his standing. In his bowing, he (peace be upon him) recited these words: «‏‏‏‏سُبْحَانَ رَبِّي الْعَظِيمِ» ‏‏‏‏. Then he (peace be upon him) prostrated, and his prostration was also as long as his bowing. In his prostrations, he (peace be upon him) recited this tasbih: «‏‏‏‏سُبْحَانَ رَبِّي الْأَعْلَى» ‏‏‏‏. Whenever he (peace be upon him) recited a verse of mercy, he would ask Allah for mercy, and whenever he recited a verse of punishment, he would seek refuge with Allah from its punishment, and whenever he recited a verse in which Allah’s transcendence and sanctity were mentioned, he would glorify Allah. This is the narration of Mu’ammal.

Sayyiduna Hudhayfah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that I prayed one night with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). Whenever he recited a verse of mercy, he would pause and ask Allah Almighty for mercy, and whenever he recited a verse of punishment, he would pause and seek refuge with Allah Almighty from His punishment. This is the hadith of Abu Musa.

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abi Awfa (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that a man came to the service of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and said, "O Messenger of Allah, teach me something that will suffice me in place of the recitation of the Qur'an, for I am unable to recite the Qur'an." The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "Recite this «‏‏‏‏سُبْحَانَ اللهِ، وَالحَمْدُ لِلَٰهِ، وَلَا إِلٰهَ إِلَّا اللهُ، وَاللَٰهُ أَكْبَرُ وَلَا حَوْلَ وَلَا قُوَّةَ إِلَّا بِاللَٰه» ‏‏‏‏ 'Glory be to Allah, all praise is for Allah, there is no deity worthy of worship except Allah, Allah is the Greatest, there is no true god except Allah, and there is no power to do good or to avoid evil except by Allah's help.'" That man closed his hand upon these words and said, "These words are for my Lord, what is there for me?" The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "Say «‏‏‏‏اللَّهُمَّ اغْفِرْ لِي وَارْحَمْنِي وَاهْدِنِي وَأارْزُقْنِي وَعَافِنِي» ‏‏‏‏ 'O Allah, forgive me, have mercy on me, guide me, provide for me, and grant me well-being.'" He says that the man closed his other hand upon these words and got up and left. This is the narration of Makhzumi. Harun, in his narration, reported these words: that the man said, "Teach me something that will suffice me in place of the Qur'an." And he did not narrate the words that the man closed his hand upon these words. At the end of the hadith, he said, "Mas'ar says: I was present with Ibrahim when he was narrating this hadith, and he verified it with the people sitting with him."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Rifa’ah bin Rafi’ (may Allah be pleased with him) that while the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was sitting in the mosque one day, Rifa’ah says, and we were also sitting in his service, a man came who seemed to be a Bedouin. He prayed, and he prayed a brief prayer. After finishing the prayer, he greeted the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), so the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said:“Peace be upon you too, go back and pray, for you have not prayed.”The man went back, prayed, then came to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and greeted him. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) replied to his greeting and said:“Go back and perform the prayer, for you have not performed the prayer.”The man prayed in this (brief and light) manner two or three times. Each time he would come to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), greet him, and the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) would say:“Peace be upon you too, go back and pray, for you have not prayed.”The Companions became afraid and found it very hard that the prayer of a person who prayed briefly would not be valid at all. Eventually, the man said: O Messenger of Allah, show me (how to pray) or teach me (how to pray), for indeed I am a human being, I make mistakes and I also do things correctly. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said:“Certainly (I will teach you). When you stand for prayer, perform ablution according to Allah’s command, then testify to the two testimonies, then say the iqamah «‏‏‏‏اللهُ أَكْبَرُ» ‏‏‏‏, then if you know any part of the Qur’an, recite it, otherwise praise and glorify Allah «‏‏‏‏الحَمْدُ لِلَٰه» ‏‏‏‏, declare His greatness «‏‏‏‏اللهُ أَكْبَرُ» ‏‏‏‏, and His oneness «‏‏‏‏لَا إِلٰهَ إِلَّا الله» ‏‏‏‏. Then bow (ruku’) and perform ruku’ with calmness, then stand up straight. Then prostrate (sajdah) and perform it fully, then sit with complete calmness, then stand up for the next rak’ah. When you perform the prayer in this manner, your prayer will be complete, and if you leave out any of these things, your prayer will be incomplete.”He says that this was easier for the Companions than the Prophet’s (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) first statement, that whoever leaves something out, his prayer will be deficient, but the complete prayer will not be invalidated.

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Sa’ib (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) led the morning prayer in Makkah Mukarramah and started «‏‏‏‏سورۃ المؤمنون» ‏‏‏‏. When the mention of Musa and Harun or Isa (peace be upon them) came (Muhammad bin ‘Abbad is in doubt or his teachers differed), the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) began to cough. So he (peace and blessings be upon him) went into bowing (ruku‘). The narrator of the hadith states that Ibn Sa’ib (may Allah be pleased with him) was present at that time. The Imam has narrated from his teacher, Abdul Rahman, from Ibn Jurayj, a narration similar to the above, but with these words:“The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) led us in prayer.”And he said that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) shortened the recitation and went into bowing, and did not mention the words that followed. Imam Abu Bakr (may Allah have mercy on him) says that (this Abdullah) is not Abdullah bin Amr bin al-‘As Sahmi.

Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) says that recitation will be done in every prayer. The recitation that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) recited to us, we recite to you. And (in those prayers in which) he recited quietly from us, we have also kept that recitation hidden from you. Imam Abu Bakr (may Allah have mercy on him) says that on the basis of the Prophet’s (peace be upon him) recitation aloud and quietly, I have explained in detail in Kitab al-Imamah in which prayers the worshipper should recite aloud and in which he should recite quietly.

Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) narrates that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) lifted the curtain of his blessed chamber while the companions were standing in rows behind Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) (performing prayer), so the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "O people, among the glad tidings of prophethood, only righteous dreams remain, which a Muslim will see or will be shown to him. Beware, indeed I have been forbidden from reciting (Qur'an) in the state of bowing and prostration, therefore, in bowing, glorify the greatness of your Lord, and in prostration, supplicate earnestly and diligently, for it is most likely that your supplications will be accepted." This is the hadith of Abdul Jabbar.

Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "When the son of Adam recites a verse of prostration and then performs prostration, Satan separates from him weeping and says, 'Woe to me! The son of Adam was commanded to prostrate, so he prostrated and Paradise is for him. And I was commanded to prostrate, but I refused, so the Fire is for me.' In the narration of Jarir, it is: 'I disobeyed.'"