Sayyiduna Abu Huraira (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: "When someone leads people in prayer, he should make it short, because among the people are the weak, the sick, and those who have work to do."

Sayyiduna Abu Mas’ud (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: A man came to the service of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and said: O Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)! I do not participate in the morning prayer because so-and-so leads us in a long prayer. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) stood up (the narrator says) and while giving a sermon, I have never seen the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) more angry than on that day. He said:“O people! Some of you make others dislike (the prayer). Whoever among you leads the people in prayer should make it short, because among the people are the weak, the elderly, the frail, and those who have work to do.”

Sayyiduna Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: I have never prayed behind any imam who performed the prayer more briefly and more perfectly than the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him).

Sayyiduna Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: The Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "When I begin the prayer, sometimes I intend to make it long, but then I hear the cry of a child, so I shorten the prayer because I know how much distress this causes the child's mother."

Sayyiduna Jabir bin Samurah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said to Sayyiduna Sa’d (may Allah be pleased with him): The people of Kufa have complained about you in every matter, even regarding the prayer. So Sayyiduna Sa’d (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I make the first two rak’ahs long and the last two rak’ahs short, and I do not fall short in following the way of prayer of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). So Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: This is what I thought of you. The narrator named Abu Awn is Muhammad bin Ubaidullah.

Sayyiduna Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: I performed prayer behind the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). He performed a long prayer, to the extent that I thought of a bad idea in my heart. The narrator says: He was asked: What did you intend? He said: I intended that I would sit down and let him continue performing the prayer.

Abu Hazim narrates: Some people came to the service of Sayyiduna Sahl bin Sa’d (may Allah be pleased with him). There was a discussion among them about the pulpit, regarding which type of wood it was made from. Those people asked Sayyiduna Sahl bin Sa’d (may Allah be pleased with him) about this, so he said: By Allah! I know this matter, which type of wood it was made from, and I was watching on the day when you (the Prophet) sat on the pulpit for the first time. The Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) had sent a message to a certain woman. Sayyiduna Sahl also mentioned the name of that woman. (A later narrator forgot her name.) The message was: Tell your eldest son to make something for us out of wood on which I can sit. At that time, when I have to speak to people, so that woman instructed her son, and he made it from the wood of the forest, then he brought it. That woman sent it to the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him). By the order of the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), it was placed there, then I saw the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) perform prayer on it. He said the takbeer. He was on it when he went into ruku’, he was on it, when he raised his head from ruku’, he was on it, then he stepped back with reverse steps and performed sajdah (prostration) on the ground, then he climbed the pulpit again and did the same, and when he finished the prayer, he turned towards the people, then he said: O people! I did this so that you may follow me and so that you may know about my way of performing prayer.

Humam narrates: Sayyiduna Hudhayfah (may Allah be pleased with him) led us in prayer on a raised platform. He performed prostration on it. Sayyiduna Abu Mas’ud (may Allah be pleased with him) pulled him away. Sayyiduna Hudhayfah (may Allah be pleased with him) accepted what he said and completed the prayer. When he finished the prayer, Sayyiduna Abu Mas’ud (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Has this not been prohibited? So Sayyiduna Hudhayfah (may Allah be pleased with him) said to him: Did you not see me? I have accepted what you said. (Imam Ibn Hibban, may Allah have mercy on him, says:) When a man is an imam and intends to lead people in prayer—those people who have newly embraced Islam—and then that person stands in a place higher than the followers, and his intention is to clearly teach the rulings of prayer to the people, then this is permissible, as is mentioned in the narration transmitted from Sayyiduna Sahl bin Sa’d (may Allah be pleased with him). But when this reason does not exist, then the imam should not stand in a place higher than the followers to perform the prayer, as is mentioned in the narration transmitted from Sayyiduna Abu Mas’ud (may Allah be pleased with him). In this way, there will remain no contradiction or difference between the two narrations.

Sayyiduna Abu Mas’ud Badri (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: The Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) said:“The one who has the most knowledge of Allah’s Book should lead the people in prayer. If they are equal in recitation, then the one who migrated earlier should lead. If they are also equal in migration, then the one who is older in age should lead. And no one should lead another in prayer in his house or in his tent, nor should he sit in his specific sitting place, except with his permission, as the rulings regarding his permission are different.”Shu’bah says: I asked Isma’il about the meaning of the word ‘taqarrumah’. He replied: It means his bedding. Hawzi, the narrator, did not mention this statement; I asked Isma’il about it.

Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates this statement of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): "When you come for prayer, do not come running towards it, rather come in a state of calmness. Perform as much of the prayer as you catch, and complete what you have missed afterwards."