(may Allah bless him and grant him peace)

“I begin the prayer intending to prolong it, but then I hear a child crying and shorten it, knowing how distressed his mother is for him.”

It is even reported that he recited Sūrat al-Takwīr and Sūrat al-Zalzalah in Fajr. The imam should therefore strive to follow the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. If those praying behind him are unaccustomed to his manner of prayer and might be put off by it, he should introduce them to it gradually. He should not begin with something that would drive them away, but should follow the Sunnah as far as possible. The imam must not prolong the prayer beyond its prescribed length unless they choose that. As established in an authentic hadith, he said, may Allah bless him and grant him peace:

“Whoever leads the people in prayer should keep it brief, for among them are the sick, the elderly, and those with pressing needs.”

This was recorded in the two Sahīh collections. He also said:

“When any of you leads the people in prayer, he should keep it brief; when he prays alone, he may prolong it as much as he wishes.”

He used to prolong the bowing and prostration, as well as the standing after bowing and the sitting between prostrations. It is established in an authentic hadith:

“When he raised his head from bowing, he would remain standing until someone might say, ‘He has forgotten.’ When he raised his head from prostration, he would remain sitting until someone might say, ‘He has forgotten.’”

The Sunan collections report that Anas ibn Mālik likened the prayer of ‘Umar ibn ‘Abd al-‘Azīz to the Prophet’s prayer. ‘Umar would glorify Allah about ten times while bowing and about ten times while prostrating. The imam should therefore ordinarily do what the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, ordinarily did. If there is good reason to make the prayer longer