It is also recommended for the preacher to sit on the pulpit until the muʾadhdhin has finished, for Ibn ʿUmar said, “When the Messenger of Allah ﷺ mounted the pulpit, he would sit until the caller to prayer was done; then he would rise and deliver the sermon,” narrated by Abu Dawud.

Among the sunnahs of the two Friday sermons is that he sit between them, as Ibn ʿUmar reported: “The Prophet ﷺ used to deliver two sermons while standing, separating them with a sitting,” agreed upon.

Another sunnah is to preach while standing, in imitation of the Messenger ﷺ and in view of the verse, “but they left you standing” ⦗Q 62:11⦘, which has been the consistent practice of the Muslims.

It is also recommended that he lean on a staff or something similar.

He should face directly forward, following the Prophet’s ﷺ practice, because turning to one side neglects those on the other and contradicts the sunnah. The Prophet ﷺ would face straight ahead during the sermon, and the congregation would likewise face him. Ibn Masʿud said, “When he settled on the pulpit, we would face him with our faces,” related by al-Tirmidhi.

The sermon should be kept at a moderate length—long enough to benefit the listeners but not so long that they grow weary, nor so brief that it fails to profit them. Imam Muslim narrates from ʿAmmar, in a hadith traced back to the Prophet ﷺ: “The lengthiness of a man’s prayer and the brevity of his sermon are signs of his understanding; so lengthen the prayer and shorten the sermon.” The expression “signs of his understanding” means an indication of his sound grasp of the religion.