and says, “Allah hears those who praise Him,” then praises Him. He then recites al-Fatihah and a long surah, though shorter than the first; then he bows and prolongs the bowing, though it is shorter than the first; then he rises, …

His statement, “And says, ‘Allah hears those who praise Him’”: that is, he says, “Allah hears those who praise Him.”

His statement, “Then praises Him”: that is, after standing upright, he says, “Our Lord, and to You belongs all praise,” as in the other prayers.

His statement, “Then he recites al-Fatihah and a long surah, though shorter than the first”: this is what makes this prayer distinctive, for in other prayers al-Fatihah is not recited after bowing; rather, what follows bowing is prostration. In this prayer, however, he recites al-Fatihah and a long surah.

But is it much shorter than the first, or only slightly shorter?

The answer is that the hadith states, “shorter than the first” (1), so one should consider the extent of this difference.

What appears to be meant is that it is not much shorter, but sufficiently shorter to distinguish the first standing from the second.

His statement, “Then he bows and prolongs the bowing, though it is shorter than the first”: regarding the phrase, “shorter than the first,” we say here what we said concerning the recitation.

His statement, “Then he rises”: that is, he says, “Allah hears those who praise Him,” and praises Him.

The apparent meaning of the author’s words is that, in the standing followed by prostration, he does not prolong the standing; rather, it is like that of an ordinary prayer. However, this apparent meaning is open to question. The correct view is that he prolongs this standing so that it is close in duration to the bowing, for this was the Prophet’s usual practice in his prayer, may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him. Al-Bara ibn Azib said: