Shorting The Last Two Rak'ah

Jabir b. Samurah reported:

’Umar said to Sa’d: people complain against you for everything, even for prayer. He replied: I prolong the first two rak’ahs of prayer and make the last two rak’ahs brief; I do not fall short of following the prayer offered by the Messenger of Allah(ﷺ). He said: I think so about you.

حَدَّثَنَا حَفْصُ بْنُ عُمَرَ، حَدَّثَنَا شُعْبَةُ، عَنْ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ عُبَيْدِ اللَّهِ أَبِي عَوْنٍ، عَنْ جَابِرِ بْنِ سَمُرَةَ، قَالَ قَالَ عُمَرُ لِسَعْدٍ قَدْ شَكَاكَ النَّاسُ فِي كُلِّ شَىْءٍ حَتَّى فِي الصَّلاَةِ ‏.‏ قَالَ أَمَّا أَنَا فَأَمُدُّ فِي الأُولَيَيْنِ وَأَحْذِفُ فِي الأُخْرَيَيْنِ وَلاَ آلُو مَا اقْتَدَيْتُ بِهِ مِنْ صَلاَةِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم ‏.‏ قَالَ ذَاكَ الظَّنُّ بِكَ ‏.‏

Abu sa’id al Khudri said:

We used to estimate how long the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) stood in the noon and the afternoon prayer, and we estimated that he stood in the first two rak’ahs of the noon prayer as long as it takes to recite thirty verses (of the Qur’an), such as A-L-M Tanzil al-Sajdah. And we estimated that he stood in the last two rak’ahs half the time he stood in the first two rak’ahs. We estimated that he stood in the first two rak’ahs of the afternoon prayer as long as he did in the last two at noon; and we estimated that he stood in the last two rak’ahs of the afternoon prayer half the time he did in first two.

حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ مُحَمَّدٍ، - يَعْنِي النُّفَيْلِيَّ - حَدَّثَنَا هُشَيْمٌ، أَخْبَرَنَا مَنْصُورٌ، عَنِ الْوَلِيدِ بْنِ مُسْلِمٍ الْهُجَيْمِيِّ، عَنْ أَبِي الصِّدِّيقِ النَّاجِيِّ، عَنْ أَبِي سَعِيدٍ الْخُدْرِيِّ، قَالَ حَزَرْنَا قِيَامَ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم فِي الظُّهْرِ وَالْعَصْرِ فَحَزَرْنَا قِيَامَهُ فِي الرَّكْعَتَيْنِ الأُولَيَيْنِ مِنَ الظُّهْرِ قَدْرَ ثَلاَثِينَ آيَةً قَدْرَ ‏{‏ الم * تَنْزِيلُ ‏}‏ السَّجْدَةِ وَحَزَرْنَا قِيَامَهُ فِي الأُخْرَيَيْنِ عَلَى النِّصْفِ مِنْ ذَلِكَ وَحَزَرْنَا قِيَامَهُ فِي الأُولَيَيْنِ مِنَ الْعَصْرِ عَلَى قَدْرِ الأُخْرَيَيْنِ مِنَ الظُّهْرِ وَحَزَرْنَا قِيَامَهُ فِي الأُخْرَيَيْنِ مِنَ الْعَصْرِ عَلَى النِّصْفِ مِنْ ذَلِكَ ‏.‏