which he usually performed: a balanced prayer whose postures were comparable in duration, in which he shortened the standing and sitting, prolonged the bowing and prostration, and made the bowing, prostration, and upright postures after each equal in duration. This is established from the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. His recitation at dawn was between sixty and one hundred verses, at noon about thirty verses, and in the afternoon and night prayers half that amount. Yet he might shorten the prayer further for a particular reason, as the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said:

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

Likewise, he might prolong it beyond this for a particular reason, as when the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, recited the longer of the two long surahs—al-A'rāf—in the sunset prayer.

It is recommended to make the first unit of every prayer longer than the second. It is also recommended to prolong the first two units and shorten the last two, as Sa'd ibn Abī Waqqās related concerning the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. This is the position of the great majority of jurists of the hadith tradition.

Some jurists, however, do not recommend prolonging the upright postures after bowing and prostration. Some consider each of these an essential element to be kept brief, on the grounds that it is prescribed merely as an intervening separation, rather than being intended in its own right. Some make the first two units equal in length, while others recommend that the imam repeat the glorification of Allah no more than three times during bowing and prostration. They have expressed various other views as well.