Dispute in the mosque about making prayers long or short
Question

                We have a mosque in the Islamic centre, and there has arisen a dispute among the worshippers about making the prayers long or short. I hope that you can inform us of what is said in the sharee’ah about this matter.
Praise be to Allah.It was narrated that 
          Jaabir (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: “Mu’aadh  led his 
          companions in praying ‘isha’ and he made it lengthy. The Prophet  
          (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: ‘Do you want to be 
          a cause of fitnah? When you lead the people in prayer, recite Wa’l-shamsi wa duhaahaa (al-Shams 91), Sabbih 
          isma rabbik al-A’laa (al-A’laa 87), Iqraa’ 
          bismi Rabbik (al-‘Alaq 96), and Wa’l-layli 
          idha yaghshaa (al-Layl 92).’” (Agreed upon; this version 
          narrated by Muslim). 
 Al-Haafiz 
          said: Whoever follows the way of the Prophet  
          (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) by being brief and complete, 
          no one will complain that he is taking too long. The description of 
          the prayer of the Prophet  (peace 
          and blessings of Allaah be upon him) is well-known. Therefore the briefness 
          in prayer which is enjoined is something which is relative, and must 
          be measured against what the Prophet  
          (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) did, persisted in and enjoined 
          upon others, not the desires of the members of the congregation. It 
          was narrated in al-Saheehayn 
          that Anas said: “I never prayed behind anyone who made the prayer more 
          brief and more perfect than the Prophet  
          (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him).” 
 He 
          said in al-Mubdi’: They 
          evaluated the prayer of the Prophet  
          (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and his sujood lasted the 
          length of time it takes to say Subhaan 
          rabbi al-A’laa ten times. His rukoo’ was of a similar length. 
          And he [the Prophet  (peace and 
          blessings of Allaah be upon him)] said: “pray as you have seen me praying.” 
          
 Shaykh 
          al-Islam [Ibn Taymiyah] said: he (the imaam) does not have the right 
          to make the prayer longer than what is prescribed. He should usually 
          do what the Prophet  (peace and 
          blessings of Allaah be upon him) usually did, and make it longer or 
          shorter according to the circumstances, just as the Prophet  
          (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) did. 
 Ibn 
          ‘Abd al-Barr said: For imaams to keep the prayer brief is a matter on 
          which there is scholarly consensus that it is mustahabb, as long as 
          he meets the condition of making it complete. 
 The 
          hadeeth of Jaabir quoted above indicates that reciting the soorahs mentioned 
          or similar soorahs is what is considered to be moderate in prayer. What 
          is prescribed is for the rukoo’ and sujood to be of similar length to 
          the recitation. 
 And 
          Allaah knows best.