by speaking or by moving from his place. (1)

His statement, “except in case of need”: a need is less than a necessity, for a necessity is that without which a person would suffer harm.

A need is something that completes what one intends, without being indispensable. An example of a need in this case is where the imam wishes to offer a voluntary prayer but finds all the rows full, with no space available, and is unable to pray in his home or elsewhere. In that case, he needs to offer the voluntary prayer in the place where he performed the obligatory prayer.

His statement, “and prolonging his sitting after the prayer while facing the qiblah”: that is, it is disliked for the imam to remain seated for a long time facing the qiblah after the salām. Rather, he should keep it brief and sit only long enough to say, “I seek Allah’s forgiveness” three times, then, “O Allah, You are Peace, and from You comes peace. Blessed are You, O Possessor of Majesty and Honour.” (2) He should then leave. This is the sunnah.

Thus, prolonging his sitting facing the qiblah after the salām entails certain concerns:

First: it is contrary to the sunnah.

Second: it holds the people back, because the congregants are prohibited from leaving before the imam leaves. Thus, if he remains facing the qiblah for a long time, he holds the people back.