عن أَبي هُريرةَ رضي اللّه عنه، أَنَّ رسولَ اللّه صَلّى اللّهُ عَلَيْهِ وسَلَّم قال: «إِذا صلّى أَحدُكُمْ للنَّاسِ فلْيُخَفِّفْ، فَإِنَّ فِيهِمُ الضَّعِيفَ وَالسّقيمَ والْكَبِيرَ، وإِذَا صَلَّى أَحَدُكُمْ لِنَفْسِهِ فَلْيطَوِّل ما شَاءَ» متفقٌ عليه. • وفي روايةٍ: «وذَا الحاجَةِ».
Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: "When one of you leads the people in prayer, let him make it light, for among them are the weak, the sick, and the elderly. But when one of you prays by himself, let him prolong it as much as he wishes." Agreed upon (narrated by al-Bukhari and Muslim). In another narration: "and those who have needs."
الشرح · explanation
إذا صلّى أحدكم للنّاس: أي إذا صلّى إمامًا. الضعيف: في بدنه. السقيم: المريض. ذا الحاجة: صاحب حاجة يريد قضاءها بعد الصلاة.
When one of you leads the people in prayer (idha salla ahadukum li-l-nas): meaning when he prays as an imam. The weak (al-da'if): weak in body. The sick (al-saqim): the ill person. Those who have needs (dha al-hajah): one who has an affair he wishes to attend to after the prayer.
الدروس · lessons
يكون تخفيف الإمام في الصلاة باقتصاره في القراءة مثلًا على أواسط المفصَّل وقِصار السور، وهذا في إمامته لعامّة الناس، وهو مندوب. من كان إمامًا لنفسه أو لقوم مُعيّنين وهم راضون بالتطويل فلا بأس به. يُسر الإسلام ورفع المشقّة والحرج عن المصلين.
The imam should lighten the prayer by limiting himself, for example, to mid-length and short chapters of the Quran when leading the general public in prayer; this is recommended. If one leads a specific group of people in prayer and they are content with a longer prayer, there is no harm in that. The ease of Islam and the removal of hardship and burden from the worshippers.