Al-Tirmidhī (1) also cited a hadith narrated by ʿAlī ibn Abī Tālib, which he graded authentic, stating that the Prophet ﷺ would raise his hands at this point as well.

He would then recite al-Fātihah alone. It has not been established that he recited anything after al-Fātihah in the last two prayer units (2). Al-Shāfiʿī, in one of his two opinions, and others held that reciting something beyond al-Fātihah in the last two prayer units (3) is recommended. In support of this opinion, they cited Abū Saʿīd’s hadith in the Sahīh (4):

“We estimated that Allah’s Messenger ﷺ stood in the first two prayer units (5) of Zuhr for as long as it would take to recite Surah al-Sajdah (‘Alif Lām Mīm. The revelation’), and that he stood in the last two for half that time. We estimated that he stood in the first two prayer units of ʿAsr for as long as he stood in the last two of Zuhr, and in the last two of ʿAsr for half that time.”

Abū Qatādah’s hadith (6), recorded by both al-Bukhārī and Muslim, apparently indicates that he confined his recitation to al-Fātihah in the last two prayer units. Abū Qatādah said:

“Allah’s Messenger ﷺ would lead us in prayer, reciting al-Fātihah and two surahs in the first two prayer units of Zuhr and ʿAsr, and occasionally letting us hear a verse.”

Muslim added: “And he would recite al-Fātihah in the last two prayer units.” Neither hadith, however, explicitly settles the point at issue.

As for Abū Saʿīd’s hadith, it is merely their estimate and conjecture, not a report of