And from him, from Ahmad ibn al-Hasan from al-Husayn from al-Hasan from Zur‘ah from Sama‘ah who said:
I asked Him
عليه السلام about ‘ruku’ and ‘sujud’, whether they were mentioned in the Qur’an. Imam
عليه السلام said: “Yes, in the words of Allah
سبحانه وتعالى, Mighty and Majestic: ‘O you who believe, bow and prostrate’.” (Surah Hajj
22:77) I asked: “What is the minimum required for ‘ruku’ and ‘sujud’?” Imam
عليه السلام said: “As for what suffices you in ‘ruku’, it is to say three ‘tasbihat’, ‘Subhan Allah, Subhan Allah’ three times. And whoever is able to lengthen the ‘ruku’ and ‘sujud’, let him lengthen them as much as he is able. That should be in glorifying Allah
سبحانه وتعالى, praising Him
سبحانه وتعالى, magnifying Him
سبحانه وتعالى, supplicating, and showing humility, for the closest a servant is to his Lord
عز وجل is when he is in ‘sujud’. As for the imam (of prayer), when he leads the people in prayer, he should not prolong it for them, for among them are the weak and those who have needs. Indeed, the Messenger of Allah
سبحانه وتعالى, peace be upon him and his family, used to lighten the prayer when leading the people.”