“If he prays seated, then pray seated, all of you.” (1)

Accordingly, we pray seated behind an imam who is unable to stand, whether his illness is expected to pass or not.

The evidence is the generality of the text. The proof is general and unrestricted; and when it is general and unrestricted, we have no right either to specify it or to restrict it, for we are servants who are governed, not governors. There is no evidence for this condition in the Quran, the sunnah, or scholarly consensus. Since no such evidence exists, the text must remain unrestricted. Thus, it is not a condition that the imam’s inability to stand be expected to pass.

Question: If someone were to say: If the imam is an elderly man whose illness is not expected to pass, would this not entail that the congregation must always pray seated?

The answer is: We accept this consequence, so long as it is entailed by the statement of the Messenger, peace and blessings be upon him. The Messenger’s statement is true, and what necessarily follows from the truth is true. If we pray seated, despite being able to stand, in all our prayers behind an imam who prays seated, then we have prayed in obedience to the Prophet’s command, peace and blessings be upon him, and there is no harm upon us in that.

Nevertheless, this cannot apply invariably; that is, not all people pray behind this imam in every prayer. They may miss the prayer and pray individually, or with another congregation; they may pray in another mosque; or they may be excused from attending the congregational prayer and thus pray in their homes. Yet in such a case, it is preferable for someone who is able to stand to lead the prayer.