Any aspect of the prayer that has not been explicitly covered here is to be analogized to what has been mentioned; hence it is recommended to keep in step with and emulate the imam. The Prophet’s words, “The imam has only been appointed to be followed,” employ innamā, a particle of restriction, and therefore encompass every component of the prayer.

The well-known position in the school of Imam Aḥmad is that it is invalid for one performing an obligatory prayer to follow an imam who is praying a voluntary prayer, or for someone praying ẓuhr behind one praying ʿaṣr, or vice-versa, or in general for one obligatory prayer to be led by another that differs from it in time or designation; this is based on the hadith, “Do not differ.” A second narration from the Imam, however, deems all of that permissible, and this was the choice of Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah. He permits a worshipper to pray behind another whose intention and actions differ from his: for example, if someone prays ʿishāʾ behind an imam performing maghrib, he should stand after the imam’s salām and complete the fourth rakʿah. Conversely, one who prays maghrib behind an imam performing ʿishāʾ may either wait until the imam joins him in the final tashahhud and then exit the prayer after him, or intend to pray alone and give salām before him. The same applies to a person praying ʿishāʾ behind an imam leading tarāwīḥ: when the imam ends the two rakʿahs, the follower stands to complete the remaining two.

The general tenor of the hadith prohibiting a congregant from diverging from his imam also covers the intention; therefore the imam may not lead a person who is praying a supererogatory prayer, nor may the reverse occur. Yet the hadith of Muʿādh is a specific exemption: Muʿādh would perform the obligatory prayer with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), then go to his people and lead them in the same prayer, counting it for himself as voluntary while it remained obligatory for them.

Shaykh al-Islam stated: To outpace the imam deliberately is unlawful by consensus; no one may bow before his imam, rise before him, or prostrate before him. Numerous hadiths from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) confirm this, for the follower must stay behind his imam and not precede the one he follows. As for whether such precedence invalidates the prayer, the scholars have two well-known views.