He was asked about an imam of the Shāfiʿī school who says, “Allah is greatest,” repeating this declaration many times while the people stand behind him.

He answered:

All praise belongs to Allah. Repeatedly pronouncing the intention and the declaration “Allah is greatest,” as well as pronouncing the intention aloud, is prohibited according to al-Shāfiʿī and all the other leading scholars of Islam. Whoever does this acts wrongly. If he believes this to be part of the religion, he has departed from the consensus of the Muslims. He must be forbidden from doing so. If he is removed from his position as imam when he refuses to desist, there would seem to be grounds for doing so, for it is reported in Sunan Abī Dāwūd:

“The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, ordered that an imam be removed for spitting in the direction of prayer.”

The imam must pray as the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, used to pray. He may not content himself with what suffices for someone praying alone. Rather, he is forbidden to make the prayer excessively long or unduly short. What, then, if he persists in something forbidden to the imam, those following him, and someone praying alone? Allah knows best.