Ibn ‘Abbās, who said:

“The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, drew back the curtain while the people stood in rows behind Abū Bakr. He said, ‘O people, nothing remains of the glad tidings of prophethood except a good dream that a Muslim has or that someone has about him. Indeed, I have been forbidden to recite the Quran while bowing or prostrating. When bowing, therefore, magnify the Lord; and when prostrating, strive earnestly in supplication, for then your supplications are likely to be answered.’”

Several hadiths establish that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, supplicated while prostrating. More than one hadith makes clear that this occurred during his night prayer. Thus, although His words,

“Their sides forsake their beds as they call upon their Lord in fear and hope,”

include supplication in every posture of prayer, prostration has a particular merit over the other postures, just as the end of the prayer has a particular merit over its other parts. Hence, it is reported in the Sunan collections:

“Supplication is best in the latter part of the night and at the end of the obligatory prayers.”

These arguments, along with others, show that prostration, as a category of worship, is superior to standing and recitation. If it were possible to make prostration longer than standing, that would be better. However, this would cause great hardship, so prostration has been made shorter than standing. Nevertheless, the Sunnah is to prolong it when one prolongs the standing, as the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, used to do in his prayer. It is reported:

“He would keep the standing and sitting brief, and prolong the bowing and prostration.”

When he prolonged the standing in the eclipse prayer, he also prolonged the bowing and prostration. Likewise, the authentic hadith of Hudhayfah relates:

“When he recited Sūrat al-Baqarah and Sūrat al-Nisā’