Sulaiman b. Yasar quoted Abu Huraira as saying, “I never prayed behind anyone whose prayer more closely resembled that of God’s Messenger than so and so’s.” Sulaiman said that he prayed behind him, and he was prolonging the first two <i>rak'as</i> of the noon prayer, shortening the last two, shortening the afternoon prayer, reciting short <i>suras</i> from <i>al-Mufassal</i>* at the sunset prayer, medium <i>suras</i> from <i>al-Mufassal</i> at the evening prayer, and long ones from <i>al-Mufassal</i> at the morning prayer. * A name applied to the latter part of the Qur’an because there are many divisions, but opinions differ about where it begins. Lane mentions the different views in his Lexicon, pp 2407 f., saying the most correct opinion is that it begins with <i>sura</i> 49. Nasa’i transmitted it, and Ibn Majah transmitted up to “shortening the afternoon prayer.”

وَعَنْ سُلَيْمَانَ بْنِ يَسَارٍ عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ قَالَ: مَا صَلَّيْتُ وَرَاءَ أَحَدٍ أَشْبَهَ صَلَاةً بِرَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ مِنْ فلَان. قَالَ سُلَيْمَان: صَلَّيْتُ خَلْفَهُ فَكَانَ يُطِيلُ الرَّكْعَتَيْنِ الْأُولَيَيْنِ مِنَ الظّهْر ويخفف الْأُخْرَيَيْنِ ويخفف الْعَصْر وَيَقْرَأُ فِي الْمَغْرِبِ بِقِصَارِ الْمُفَصَّلِ وَيَقْرَأُ فِي الْعِشَاءِ بِوَسَطِ الْمُفَصَّلِ وَيَقْرَأُ فِي الصُّبْحِ بِطِوَالِ الْمُفَصَّلِ. رَوَاهُ النَّسَائِيُّ وَرَوَى ابْنُ مَاجَهْ إِلَى ويخفف الْعَصْر