It is sunnah for the imam to keep the prayer brief while still completing it, …
His statement, “It is sunnah for the imam to keep it brief”: When the scholars say, “It is sunnah,” they mean that it is among those matters for which a person is rewarded if he does them, but is not punished if he leaves them, for the legal rulings, according to the scholars, are five:
- Obligatory.
- Its opposite: prohibited.
- Sunnah.
- Its opposite: disliked.
- Permissible.
Thus, it is sunnah for the imam to keep the prayer brief—that is, to make it easy for the people. The brevity required of the imam is of two kinds:
- Necessary brevity.
- Occasional brevity.
Both are from the sunnah.
Necessary brevity means that one does not go beyond what the sunnah has prescribed. If he goes beyond what the sunnah has prescribed, then he has made the prayer lengthy.
As for occasional brevity, it is when there is a reason calling for greater concision than that prescribed by the sunnah—that is, for him to make it briefer than the sunnah ordinarily prescribes.
The evidence for necessary brevity is the Prophet’s ﷺ statement: “Pray as you have seen me pray.” (1) Anas, may Allah be pleased with him, said: “I never prayed behind any imam whose prayer was lighter, yet more complete, than that of the Prophet ﷺ.” (2)