Muwatta Malik 251
موطأ مالك#251SahihThese are the words of a Companion, not of the Prophet ﷺ. The chain is graded on its own terms.
وَحَدَّثَنِي عَنْ مَالِكٍ، عَنْ دَاوُدَ بْنِ الْحُصَيْنِ، أَنَّهُ سَمِعَ الأَعْرَجَ، يَقُولُ مَا أَدْرَكْتُ النَّاسَ إِلاَّ وَهُمْ يَلْعَنُونَ الْكَفَرَةَ فِي رَمَضَانَ . قَالَ وَكَانَ الْقَارِئُ يَقْرَأُ سُورَةَ الْبَقَرَةِ فِي ثَمَانِ رَكَعَاتٍ فَإِذَا قَامَ بِهَا فِي اثْنَتَىْ عَشْرَةَ رَكْعَةً رَأَى النَّاسُ أَنَّهُ قَدْ خَفَّفَ .
Yahya related to me from Malik from Da'ud ibn al-Husayn that he heard al-Araj say, "I never saw the people in Ramadan, but that they were cursing the disbelievers." He added, "The reciter of Qur'an used to recite surat al-Baqara in eight rakas and if he did it in twelve rakas the people would think that he had made it easy
Scholarly Authentication
The label above is the grade most of these scholars gave — one dissenting opinion no longer speaks for all of them. If any scholar calls a narration fabricated, that verdict is shown instead, whatever the others say. Each scholar's own wording:
In-book reference: 6:6