The two pauses of the imam

Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) says that when the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said the takbir (tahrimah) for prayer, he would remain silent for a short while before the recitation. I said: May my father and mother be sacrificed for you, what do you recite in the silence you keep between the takbir and the recitation? He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "I say: 'Allahumma ba'id bayni wa bayna khatayaya kama ba'adta bayna al-mashriqi wal-maghrib. Allahumma naqqini min khatayaya kama yunaqqa al-thawbu al-abyadu min al-danas. Allahumma-ghsilni min khatayaya bil-thalji wal-ma'i wal-barad' (O Allah, put a distance between me and my sins as You have put a distance between the east and the west. O Allah, cleanse me of my sins as a white garment is cleansed of dirt. O Allah, wash away my sins from me with snow, water and hail)."

A similar hadith is narrated through the chain of Umarah bin al-Qa'qa' (may Allah have mercy on him).

It is narrated from Sa'id bin Sam'an that Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) came to us in the mosque of Banu Zurayq and said: "There are three things that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) used to do which people have abandoned: when he (peace and blessings be upon him) began the prayer, he would raise his hands, well extended, up to his ears; after the recitation he would remain silent for a while, during which he asked Allah for His bounty; and he would say the takbir when going into ruku' and when rising." In this narration the words 'ba'da al-qira'ah' (after the recitation) occur.

Asim bin Ali narrated this report from Ibn Abi Dhi'b, and in it is that he (peace and blessings be upon him) would remain silent for a short while before the recitation.

(a) Hasan al-Basri (may Allah have mercy on him) narrates that Samurah bin Jundub and Imran bin Husayn (may Allah be pleased with them both) were discussing together. Sayyiduna Samurah bin Jundub (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that he had preserved two pauses from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him): one pause after the takbir, and the other after finishing the recitation of "Not of those who have earned (Your) anger, nor of those who go astray" [Surah al-Fatihah: 7]. Sayyiduna Imran bin Husayn (may Allah be pleased with him) objected to this, so they wrote to Sayyiduna Ubayy bin Ka'b (may Allah be pleased with him) about it. He wrote back to them that Samurah had indeed remembered correctly.
(b) Muhammad bin al-Minhal narrated this hadith via Yazid bin Zuray'. In it is that one pause was after finishing the recitation of the surah; he did not mention al-Fatihah.

Hasan al-Basri (may Allah have mercy on him) narrates that Sayyiduna Samurah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "I remember two pauses in prayer: the first pause from when the imam says the takbir until he begins the recitation, and the second pause when the imam finishes reciting Surah al-Fatihah and another surah."
The narrator says that Sayyiduna Imran bin Husayn (may Allah be pleased with him) denied this. Then they wrote a letter about this matter and sent it to Sayyiduna Ubayy bin Ka'b (may Allah be pleased with him) in Madinah, and he confirmed what Sayyiduna Samurah (may Allah be pleased with him) had said.
A report is transmitted from Hushaym, via Yunus, that when he (peace and blessings be upon him) recited "nor of those who go astray" [Surah al-Fatihah: 7], he "fell silent for a while." He did not mention the surah.
Humayd al-Tawil narrates via al-Hasan: "He (peace and blessings be upon him) would make one pause when he finished the recitation."
Ash'ath reports from al-Hasan: "When he (peace and blessings be upon him) finished the recitation, he would pause."
Here there is also the possibility that this explanation came from those who narrated from al-Hasan. That is why they differ among themselves, and there is evidence for this.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Samurah bin Jundub (may Allah be pleased with him) that there were two pauses in the prayer of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). Sayyiduna Imran bin Husayn (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I have not preserved two (pauses) from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). They wrote about this matter in a letter to Sayyiduna Ubayy bin Ka'b (may Allah be pleased with him), and Ubayy bin Ka'b (may Allah be pleased with him) wrote that Samurah (may Allah be pleased with him) had remembered correctly. We asked Qatadah (may Allah have mercy on him): What are those pauses? He said: One pause when he says the takbir and begins the prayer, and the other at the time of ruku', after finishing the recitation. Then he said: The other (time): at the opening takbir, and one pause after "Not of those who have earned (Your) anger, nor of those who go astray" [Surah al-Fatihah: 7].

Sayyiduna Samurah bin Jundub (may Allah be pleased with him) says: I preserved two pauses from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). In this (narration) it is also stated that Sa'id (may Allah have mercy on him) said: We asked Qatadah (may Allah have mercy on him): What are those two pauses? He said: One when beginning the prayer, and the other when finishing the recitation. Then after that he said: And also when saying "Not of those who have earned (Your) anger, nor of those who go astray" [Surah al-Fatihah: 7].

Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) says that when the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) stood up for the second rak'ah, he would not remain silent; rather, he would begin the recitation with "All praise is for Allah, Lord of the worlds" [Surah al-Fatihah: 2].

A similar narration is transmitted through another chain.

Abu Zur'ah says: I heard Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrate that when the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) stood up for the second rak'ah, he would begin the recitation at once and would not pause.
This hadith makes it clear that there is no pause before the recitation in the second rak'ah, and it is a sahih (authentic) hadith. It is also possible that (what is meant is that) the pause of the second rak'ah is not like the pause for the opening supplication in the first rak'ah.