Silsilat al-Ahadith al-Sahihah

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to recite Surah Al-A'la «سبح اسم ربك الاعلى» and Surah Al-Ghashiyah «هل اتاك حديث الغاشية» in the Zuhr and Asr prayers.

Sayyiduna Jabir bin Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) reports that Sayyiduna Mu’adh bin Jabal (may Allah be pleased with him) led his companions in the ‘Isha prayer and made the standing (qiyam) long. A man stepped back, prayed separately (and left). When Sayyiduna Mu’adh (may Allah be pleased with him) was informed about this, he said: The one who does this could be a hypocrite. When that man learned of this, he went to the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and informed him that Mu’adh had said such things about him. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to Mu’adh: “Mu’adh! Do you want to become a cause of tribulation (fitnah)? When you lead the people in prayer, recite surahs like «و الشمس وضحاها», «سبح اسم ربك الاعلى», «و الليل إذا يغشى», and «قرا باسم ربك».” This is the hadith of Sayyiduna Jabir bin Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him); the narrators who report from him have different wordings, comprising both lengthy and brief narrations. These are the words of Abu Zubair, which were narrated from him by Layth bin Sa’d.

Sayyiduna Uthman bin Abu al-As (may Allah be pleased with him) says: When the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) appointed me as the governor of Ta’if, the last thing he said to me was: “Lead the people in a light prayer.” In fact, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) himself specified the recitation of «سبح اسم ربك الاعلى» (i.e., Surah Al-A'la) and «قرا باسم ربك» (i.e., Surah Al-'Alaq) and similar surahs.