I prayed with a group of the companions of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, and they told me that they used to pray Maghrib with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, then they would go out shooting arrows, and the landing spots of their arrows would still be visible to them until they reached their homes at the far end of Madinah.
قال حدثنا عفان قال حدثنا أبو عوانة قال حدثنا أبو بشر
صليت مع نفر من أصحاب رسول الله ﷺ فحدثوني أنهم كانوا يصلون المغرب مع رسول الله ﷺ ثم ينطلقون يترامون لا يخفى عليهم مواقع سهامهم حتى يأتون ديارهم في أقصى المدينة
Its chain of transmission is hasan, because of Ali bin Bilal as we explained previously, and it does not matter that the companions are not named specifically. As for Abu Bishr, we previously said that he is Jafar bin Abu Wahshiya, that is, Iyas, and he is trustworthy.The meaning of the hadith is that the Prophet ﷺ used to hasten in the Maghrib prayer and shorten it, such that daylight would still remain before a resident in the farthest parts of Madinah could reach his home. This shows that shortening is required in the Maghrib prayer.Allah has tested us with people who prolong the Maghrib prayer, to the point that one of them recites Surah Dukhan in one rakat and Surah Jathiyah in another rakat, and repeats the tasbih forty times in a single sajdah, so that we do not leave the masjid until the night has grown completely dark and the light has vanished entirely. Were it not for electricity, we would not be able to see where we place our feet, nor where our arrows fall.But this is the calamity of the nation caused by ignorant imams.