and he should encourage them rather than drive them away, acting on the Prophet’s words—peace and blessings be upon him: “When one of you leads the people in prayer, let him make it brief, for among them are the sick, the weak, and those with needs. When he prays alone, however, let him prolong it as he wishes.” This narration is reported by all six canonical compilers from Abu Hurayrah (d. 59 AH).

In Sahih al-Bukhari there is also the report of Abu Masʿud: “O people! Some of you push others away. Whoever leads the people in prayer should shorten it, for among them are the weak, the elderly, and those with needs.”

One Companion said, “I never prayed behind any imam whose prayer was lighter yet more complete than that of the Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him.” He is the exemplar in this and in every matter.

Al-Hafiz Ibn Ḥajar remarked: “Whoever follows the Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him—in combining concision with completeness will not be criticized for prolonging. The requested brevity is the kind that still preserves the prayer in full, performing its pillars, obligations, and Sunnah elements as required. The command to shorten is a relative one, measured against what the Messenger of Allah did, maintained, and instructed—not against the personal preferences of the congregants.

Some scholars explained that the intended brevity is to limit oneself to the lowest level of completeness in the tasbih (glorification) and the other components of the prayer,