Narrated from Sayyiduna Ubadah bin Samit (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "The prayer of the one who does not recite Surah Al-Fatihah is not valid."

Narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) once entered the mosque. At that time, a man came and offered prayer, then he greeted the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) returned the greeting and said: "Go back and pray, for you have not prayed." So he went back and prayed as he had prayed before, then returned and greeted the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "Go back and pray, for you have not prayed." (This happened) three times. Then he said, "By Him Who has sent you with the truth, I cannot pray better than this, so please teach me." The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "When you stand for prayer, say the takbeer, then recite whatever you know from the Qur'an, then bow until you are at ease in bowing, then rise until you are standing straight, then prostrate until you are at ease in prostration, then raise your head until you are sitting at ease, and do this throughout your prayer."

Sayyiduna Abu Qatadah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) used to recite Surah Al-Fatihah and (some) other two surahs in the first two rak‘ahs of the Zuhr prayer. In the first rak‘ah, he would recite at length, and in the second, he would recite a shorter surah than the first. Sometimes he would make us hear a verse. In the ‘Asr prayer, he would recite Surah Al-Fatihah and two other surahs, reciting a long surah in the first rak‘ah and a shorter one in the second. In the first rak‘ah of the Fajr prayer, he would also recite a long surah, and in the second rak‘ah, a shorter surah than the first.

Narrated Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them): (My mother) Umm Fadl (may Allah be pleased with her) once heard me reciting (Al-Mursalat 'Urfa) in prayer. She said, "O my son! By reciting this Surah, you have reminded me that this is the last Surah I heard from the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him). He used to recite it in the Maghrib prayer."

Sayyiduna Zaid bin Thabit (may Allah be pleased with him) says that I heard the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) reciting one of the two long surahs in the Maghrib prayer.

Jubair bin Mut'im (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) reciting Surah At-Tur in the Maghrib prayer.

Narrated Abu Huraira (may Allah be pleased with him): I prayed behind Abul-Qasim ( صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم ), and he recited ("When the sky has split open") and performed a prostration (at this place in the Surah), so I will continue to perform prostration in it until I meet him.

Sayyiduna Bara’ (may Allah be pleased with him) says that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was on a journey and he recited (Wat-Teen waz-Zaytoon) in the ‘Isha (night) prayer. And in another narration, he says: I have not heard anyone with a more pleasant voice or better recitation than him (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him).

Abu Huraira (may Allah be pleased with him) says that in all prayers the Qur'an is recited. Then, in those (prayers) in which the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) recited aloud to us, we (also) recite aloud to you, and in those (prayers) in which he recited quietly and concealed from us, we (also) conceal from you. And if you do not recite more than Surah Al-Fatihah, it is sufficient, and if you recite more, it is better.

Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with both of them) narrates that (one day) the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) set out with some of his companions intending to go towards the market of ‘Ukaz. (At that time) a barrier had been placed between the devils and the news of the heavens, and flaming fire was being thrown at them. So the devils returned to their people. Their people said,“What has happened to you? (This time you have not brought anything.)”The devils replied,“A barrier has been set up between us and the news of the heavens, and now flaming fire is being hurled at us.”Their people said,“Something has created a barrier between you and the news of the heavens which has just appeared, so travel throughout the earth, east and west, and see what is that thing which has created a barrier between you and the news of the heavens.”So they set out in search, and those who came towards Tihamah reached the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), who was at that time at the place of Nakhlah, intending to go to the market of ‘Ukaz, and he (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was performing the Fajr prayer with his companions. When those jinn heard the Qur’an, they kept listening to it. They said,“By Allah! This is what has created a barrier between you and the news of the heavens.”So when they returned to their people from there, they said,“O our people! We have heard a wondrous Qur’an which guides to the right path, so we have believed in it, and (now) we will never associate anyone with our Lord.”(Surah Al-Jinn: 72) So Allah Almighty revealed these verses (of Surah Al-Jinn) to His beloved Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him): ((Say: It has been revealed to me)) (Surah Al-Jinn: 1), and the conversation of the jinn was conveyed to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him).