It is narrated from Hazrat Abu Qatadah (may Allah be pleased with him) that when the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) led us in prayer, in the first two rak'ahs of Zuhr and Asr, he would recite Surah Al-Fatihah and any two other surahs, and sometimes he would recite a verse aloud so that we could hear it. He would make the first rak'ah of Zuhr relatively long and the second rak'ah shorter. He would do the same in the Fajr prayer as well.