“…do not precede me in saying Āmīn.” Reported by al-Ṭaḥāwī.

They therefore infer that the Messenger of God—peace and blessings be upon him—would pronounce the opening takbīr before the iqāmah had concluded.

With regard to correcting (fatḥ) the imām when he falters in his recitation, Mālik, al-Shāfiʿī, and most scholars allow it, whereas the scholars of Kūfah forbid it. The root of the disagreement lies in contradictory reports. One states that “the Messenger of God—peace and blessings be upon him—hesitated over a verse, and when he finished the prayer he asked, ‘Where is Ubayy? Was he not among the people?’” that is, he wished Ubayy to prompt him. Another report from the Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him—says, “The imām is not to be prompted.” The difference of opinion thus dates back to the earliest generation: prohibition is famously related from ʿAlī, while permissibility is well known from Ibn ʿUmar.

As for the imām’s physical position, some scholars permit him to stand higher than the congregation, others forbid it, and yet others—Mālik among them—consider a slight elevation desirable. The disagreement rests on two seemingly conflicting ḥadīths. The first, soundly authenticated, relates that the Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him—led the people in prayer on the pulpit to teach them the prayer, descending from it whenever he wished to prostrate. The second, transmitted by Abū Dāwūd, recounts that Ḥudhayfah once led the people in prayer on a platform; Ibn Masʿūd seized his garment and pulled him down, and when the prayer was over said, “Do you not know that they were forbidden to do that—or that such a thing is forbidden?”

The scholars also disagreed over whether the imām must intend leadership. One group held that such an intention is not obligatory, citing the ḥadīth of Ibn ʿAbbās in which he joined the Messenger of God—peace and blessings be upon him—after the Prophet had already entered the prayer. Another group considered that report open to alternative readings and ruled that the intention is indispensable when the imām is to perform certain acts of the prayer on behalf of the congregation. This is the position of those who maintain that the imām bears—whether in obligatory or supererogatory form—part of the congregation’s duty in the prayer.