the two rak‘ahs] (1).
And another short sūrah—al-Nasāʾī adds: “and ﴿Indeed, We have granted you al-Kawthar﴾.” Zayd replied:
“By Allah! I myself heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ recite in the Maghrib prayer the very longest of the long passages, namely ﴿Alif-Lām-Mīm-Ṣād﴾.”
This is the version preserved by al-Ṭaḥāwī.
Its chain of transmission is sound according to the criteria of al-Bukhārī and Muslim, as noted by al-Nawawī (3/383) and Ibn al-Qayyim (1/75).
Al-Ṭaḥāwī also recorded it through Ḥammād, from Hishām, from his father, in similar wording, but he said: “Zayd ibn Thābit or Abū Zayd al-Anṣārī”—Hishām was unsure.
Imām Aḥmad likewise transmitted it (5/185) through Yaḥyā ibn Saʿīd, from Hishām, with a similar wording, though he said: “or Abū Ayyūb.” It appears that ʿUrwah first heard it from Marwān quoting Zayd, then later met Zayd himself and heard it directly, as stated in Fatḥ al-Bārī.
Al-Sindī commented:
“In this ḥadith we learn that the imam should occasionally recite what the Prophet ﷺ used to recite, seeking blessing from his recitation and reviving his beautiful Sunnah and traces.” End quote.
Ibn al-Qayyim said:
“Restricting the Maghrib recitation to a single brief verse or a sūrah from the very short section of al-Mufaṣṣal contravenes the Sunnah. This was the practice of Marwān ibn al-Ḥakam, and for that reason Zayd ibn Thābit rebuked him.”

(1) This is a separate narration from Zayd ibn Thābit, cited earlier through Hishām ibn ʿUrwah from his father. Zayd said to Marwān:
“You make the recitation in the two rak‘ahs of Maghrib too light. By Allah! The Messenger of Allah ﷺ used to recite Sūrat al-Aʿrāf in both rak‘ahs.”
Related by Ibn Khuzaymah (1/68/1) = [1/260/518]. (*)