Ibn Daqīq al-ʿĪd, however, held that this requires lightening what is normally lengthened and lengthening what is normally lightened.
Allah—exalted is He—guided me to the overall meaning I mentioned earlier: whenever the Prophet lengthened the Qur’an recitation, he lengthened all the other pillars as well, so that the prayer remained nearly balanced whether long or short.
The same rule that applies to the recitation applies to the sitting for the tashahhud. After writing this, I discovered that Ibn al-Qayyim had adopted the same view in his works “As-Ṣalāh” and “Tahdhīb al-Sunan,” and this, God willing, is the correct position.
Hadith 8
Narrated by Thābit al-Bunnānī, from Anas ibn Mālik (Allah be pleased with him): “I will spare no effort(1) to lead you in prayer exactly as the Messenger of Allah ﷺ used to lead us.”
Thābit said: “Anas would do something I do not see you doing. When he raised his head from bowing, he would stand upright until someone would say, ‘He has forgotten.’ And when he raised his head from prostration, he would remain [seated] until someone would say, ‘He has forgotten.’ ”
Overall meaning(2):
Anas, may Allah be pleased with him, declares that he will strive—without falling short—to lead the congregation in the very manner in which the Messenger of Allah ﷺ led them, so that they may follow his example and pray as he prayed.
The narrator Thābit al-Bunnānī notes that Anas practiced an element that perfects and beautifies the prayer, which he did not witness others performing: Anas would prolong the standing after bowing and the sitting after prostration.
Thus, when he lifted his head from bowing he would remain standing long enough that an observer, due to the length of the standing, might think he had forgotten he was between bowing and prostration; and when he lifted his head from prostration he would remain seated long enough that an observer, because of the length of the sitting, might think he had forgotten.
Points derived from the hadith:
This report establishes the legitimacy of lengthening the standing after bowing and the sitting after prostration, and shows that it was the practice of the Prophet ﷺ.
(1) Meaning: I will not neglect or fall short.
(2) Lit. “overall meaning.”