Ibn al-Qāsim transmitted that it is impermissible for a person who is seated to lead the prayer and that, should people pray behind such an imām—whether standing or seated—their prayer is invalid. Another report from Mālik states that they must repeat the prayer within its appointed time, but this, he says, is merely a matter of disapproval, not outright prohibition; the first opinion is the one most widely attributed to him.
The root of the disagreement is the collision of the transmitted reports on the issue and—according to Mālik—the tension between those reports and the actual practice of the people of Madinah. In this regard two seemingly contradictory ḥadīths exist:
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The ḥadīth of Anas in which the Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him—said: “When he prays seated, then pray seated.”
A parallel report from ʿĀʾishah states: “The Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him—prayed while ill, seated, and a group behind him prayed standing. He gestured to them to sit, and when he finished he said, ‘The imām has only been appointed to be followed; so when he bows, bow; when he rises, rise; and when he prays seated, then pray seated.’”
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The second ḥadīth, also from ʿĀʾishah, relates: “During the illness in which the Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—passed away, he entered the mosque and found Abū Bakr standing and leading the people in prayer. Abū Bakr started to step back, but the Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—signaled to him to remain where he was. The Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—then sat beside Abū Bakr; Abū Bakr followed the prayer of the Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him, and the people followed Abū Bakr.”
Scholars have taken two approaches to these two reports: abrogation (naskh) and weighing/preference (tarjīḥ).
Those who adopt abrogation say that the plain meaning of ʿĀʾishah’s report is that the Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him—was the actual imām, while Abū Bakr merely relayed the takbīrs aloud, for two imāms cannot preside over a single prayer; that the people remained standing while the Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him—was seated; and that, since this was his final practice, it abrogates his earlier words and actions.
Those who opt for weighing give priority to the ḥadīth of Anas, arguing that the transmissions from ʿĀʾishah are inconsistent concerning who the imām actually was—was it the Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—or Abū Bakr?
As for Mālik, he possesses no direct auditory support (istimāʿ) for either position, for both ḥadīths concur that a seated imām is permissible and differ only over whether the congregation should stand or sit. Indeed, Abū Muḥammad Ibn Ḥazm remarked that the ḥadīth of ʿĀʾishah does not explicitly state whether the people prayed standing or sitting, and it is unwarranted to abandon an explicit text because of something on which no text exists.
Abū ʿUmar said: Abū Muṣʿab records in his Mukhtaṣar from Mālik that he said, “No one is to lead the people while seated, for…"