It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him), he says: After the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), I have not prayed behind anyone whose prayer resembled the prayer of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) more. This man was the imam in Madinah. Sulaiman bin Yasar says: (Upon hearing this) when I prayed behind him, I saw that he would lengthen the first two rak‘ahs of Zuhr and lighten the last two, and in the first two rak‘ahs of Maghrib he would recite from the short Mufassal surahs, in the first two rak‘ahs of ‘Isha he would recite from the middle Mufassal surahs, and in the Fajr prayer he would recite from the long Mufassal surahs. Dahhak says: A man who heard from Sayyiduna Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated to me that he said: I have not seen anyone, except this young man, i.e., ‘Umar bin ‘Abd al-‘Aziz, whose prayer resembled the prayer of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) more. Dahhak says: Then I prayed behind ‘Umar bin ‘Abd al-‘Aziz, and then he described the same method as Sulaiman bin Yasar.

Sayyiduna Jabir bin Samurah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) would recite Surah Al-Lail in Zuhr, similar surahs in Asr, and longer recitation than these in Fajr.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Qatadah (may Allah be pleased with him), he says: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) used to lead us in the Zuhr prayer and would recite (Qur’an) in the first two rak‘ahs and sometimes would make us hear a verse as well. He would make the first rak‘ah long and the second short, and he would do the same in the Fajr prayer, that is, he would make the first rak‘ah long and the second short. And in the first two rak‘ahs of the ‘Asr prayer as well, he would recite (along with Surah al-Fatihah) another surah.

Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah, may Allah be pleased with him, says: Recitation is done in every prayer. Whatever the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, used to recite aloud to us, we also recite aloud to you, and whatever he kept hidden from us, we also keep hidden from you. That is: In reciting aloud or silently, we adhere to the practice of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah, may Allah be pleased with him, who says: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, used to lead us in prayer; in those prayers in which he recited aloud, we would also recite aloud, and in those in which he recited quietly, we would also recite quietly. I heard the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, say: There is no prayer except with recitation.

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.