These hadiths are among the most authentic. They establish that he would sometimes recite al-A‘rāf in Maghrib, sometimes al-Tūr, and sometimes al-Mursalāt, although the jurists agree that the Sunnah is for the recitation in Maghrib to be shorter than that in Fajr. What, then, of the recitation in Fajr and the other prayers?
Another example is what Wakī‘ narrated from Mansūr, from Ibrāhīm al-Nakha‘ī, who said:
“Abū ‘Ubaydah ibn ‘Abdullāh ibn Mas‘ūd would prolong his standing to match the duration of his bowing, and they used to criticize him for that.”
Abū Muhammad ibn Hazm said:
“The blame lies with those who criticize the practice of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and rely on those whose example carries no authority.”
I say:
Abū ‘Ubaydah’s practice, as reported in the Sahīh, and its agreement with the practice of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, have already been discussed. Those who criticized him were people of Kufa who lived during the time of al-Hajjāj and the uprising of Ibn al-Ash‘ath. They were not Companions, nor were they known to be among the leading Successors. Although some of them may have lived in Ibn Mas‘ūd’s lifetime, Ibn Mas‘ūd’s son was not the regular imam at the time; someone else held that position. Moreover, Ibn Mas‘ūd’s son was more likely to follow his father than these unidentified men. Those who objected to Abū ‘Ubaydah did so only because he departed from the custom