The ruling on consistently reciting Surat al-Ikhlas in the second rak'ah

Question:
He says: I notice that the imams recite Surat al-Ikhlas in the second rak'ah constantly. Is this prescribed?

Answer:
The matter in this is broad, and the Sunnah is to emulate the prayer of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and for the imam to recite as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to recite. He would lengthen the recitation in Fajr and in Zuhr, and shorten it in 'Asr. In Maghrib, sometimes he would lengthen it and sometimes shorten it. In 'Isha', he would moderate it, like Zuhr and 'Asr, except that Zuhr is longer, and it is closer to Fajr. This is how the Sunnah came from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). So the believer emulates his recitation (peace and blessings be upon him): he recites in Fajr with verses like: Qaf, al-Dhariyat, al-Tur, and similar long surahs from the latter part of the Qur'an. In Zuhr, he recites less than that. In 'Asr, he recites less than in Zuhr. In Maghrib, sometimes he would lengthen and sometimes shorten. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) recited in it with al-Tur, and he recited in it with al-Mursalat. The common practice is that he (peace and blessings be upon him) recites in it with the short surahs of the latter part of the Qur'an, such as: [al-Shams:1] [al-Duha:1], [al-Layl:1] and [al-Zalzalah:1], and al-Qari'ah. And if he lengthens it at times, as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did, this is from the Sunnah. And in 'Isha', he recites with the medium-length surahs of the latter part of the Qur'an, such as: [al-Ghashiyah:1], [al-Buruj:1], [al-Tariq:1], [al-Infitar:1], and similar to that, as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) advised Mu'adh to do so (peace and blessings be upon him). Yes.