The Criterion for Lengthening the Recitation in Congregational Prayer

Question:
May Allah reward you with good. He says: Honorable Shaykh Ahmad, what is the criterion for lengthening the recitation in prayer, especially the Fajr prayer? And does reciting half a juz, a juz and a half, or more than that count as lengthening it?

Answer:
Lengthening is divided into two categories. Lengthening by a person praying alone is fine; he may lengthen as much as he wishes, as the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said. As for the imam, he must not make it difficult for the ma'mum (those praying behind him); rather, he should lengthen it in a way that does not burden the ma'mum. Half a juz is little; that is a trivial amount. He may lengthen it beyond half a juz. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to recite in Fajr from seventy to one hundred verses. He would enter the prayer in darkness, meaning in the dark, and would not exit it until a man could recognize his companion. The scholars of jurisprudence said that one should recite in Maghrib from the short surahs of the final third of the Qur'an, in Fajr from the long surahs of the final third, and in the remaining prayers from the medium-length surahs of the final third. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) guided to reciting "And the night when it covers," "The sun and its radiance," and similar surahs. Yes.