عَنْ أَبِي الْعَالِيَةِ قَالَ: اجْتَمَعَ ثَلَاثُونَ مِنْ أَصْحَابِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّمَ فَقَالُوا: أَمَّا مَا يَجْهَرُ فِيهِ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّمَ بِالْقِرَاءَةِ فَقَدْ عَلِمْنَاهُ، وَمَا لَا يَجْهَرُ فِيهِ فَلَا نَقِيسُ بِمَا يَجْهَرُ بِهِ، قَالَ: فَاجْتَمَعُوا فَمَا اخْتَلَفَ مِنْهُمْ اثْنَانِ أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّمَ كَانَ يَقْرَأُ فِي صَلَاةِ الظُّهْرِ قَدْرَ ثَلَاثِينَ آيَةً فِي الرَّكْعَتَيْنِ الْأُوْلَيَيْنِ فِي كُلِّ رَكْعَةٍ، وَفِي الرَّكْعَتَيْنِ الْأُخْرَيَيْنِ قَدْرَ النِّصْفِ مِنْ ذَلِكَ، وَيَقْرَأُ فِي الْعَصْرِ فِي الْأُوْلَيَيْنِ بِقَدْرِ النِّصْفِ مِنْ قِرَاءَتِهِ فِي الرَّكْعَتَيْنِ الْأُوْلَيَيْنِ مِنَ الظُّهْرِ، وَفِي الْأُخْرَيَيْنِ قَدْرَ النِّصْفِ مِنْ ذَلِكَ
Abu Al-Aliyah says: Thirty companions gathered and they said: We know (the prayers) in which the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, recited aloud, but as for those prayers in which he did not recite aloud, we do not make an analogy with the prayers in which he recited aloud. Then they all agreed upon this matter, and not even two among them differed, that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, used to recite in the first two rak'ahs of the Zuhr prayer the equivalent of thirty verses, and in the last two rak'ahs half of that amount, and in the first two rak'ahs of the Asr prayer, half of what he recited in the first two rak'ahs of Zuhr, and in its last two rak'ahs, half of that amount.