This view, as you can see, is a middle position that reconciles the reports, as the author of al-Mughnī, may Allah have mercy on him, stated. It was also Ibn al-Qayyim’s preferred view: we do not say that it is a sunnah without qualification, nor that it is not a sunnah without qualification. Rather, we say that it is a sunnah for one who needs it due to old age, illness, or the like. I once inclined to the view that it is recommended without qualification, and that one should sit; I would also do so when I was leading the prayer. But after prolonged consideration, it became clear to me that this nuanced view is a middle position and is more likely correct than the view that it is recommended in all cases—though its superiority is not decisive in my view. Nevertheless, I am more inclined to it, and so I have adopted it.

Question: If a person is praying behind an imam, and he holds that this sitting is a sunnah, is it better for him to sit, or is following the imam better?

Answer: Following the imam is better. This is why one leaves an obligatory act—the first tashahhud—and performs something additional. For example, if one joins the imam in the second rak'ah, he will recite the tashahhud in his first rak'ah, thus performing an additional tashahhud in order to follow the imam. And when the imam stands for the fourth rak'ah, he will omit the first tashahhud in order to follow the imam. Indeed, a person may even leave a pillar of the prayer in order to follow the imam. The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said: “If he prays sitting, then pray sitting.” (1) Thus, he leaves the pillar of standing, and the pillar of bowing: he sits in place of standing and gestures in place of bowing. All of this is done in order to follow the imam.

If someone were to say: This sitting is brief, and it does not result in any significant lagging behind the imam.