that he said to Mālik ibn al-Huwayrith and his companion:

“When the time for prayer comes, give the call to prayer and announce its commencement, and let the older of you lead you both. And pray as you have seen me pray.”

He thus commanded them to pray as they had seen him pray. This entails that the imam must lead people in prayer as the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, used to lead them. Nothing contradicts this or restricts its scope, for the imam has obligations that do not apply to someone following an imam or praying alone.

An authentic report in the two Sahīh collections relates that Sahl ibn Sa‘d said:

“I saw the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, stand on the pulpit and proclaim ‘Allah is the Greatest.’ The people behind him did likewise while he was on the pulpit. He then stepped backwards down from it and prostrated at its base. He then returned and continued until he had finished his prayer. Then he turned towards the people and said, ‘O people, I did this only so that you would follow my example and learn how I pray.’”

In the Sunan collections of Abū Dāwūd and al-Nasā’ī, Sālim al-Barrād said:

“We came to Uqbah ibn Āmir al-Ansārī, Abū Mas‘ūd, and said to him, ‘Tell us about the prayer of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace.’ He stood before us in the mosque and proclaimed ‘Allah is the Greatest.’ When he bowed, he placed his hands on his knees, with his fingers below them, and held his elbows apart until every part of his body had come to rest. Then he said, ‘Allah hears whoever praises Him,’ and stood until every part of his body had come to rest. Then he proclaimed ‘Allah is the Greatest’ and prostrated, placing his palms on the ground and holding his elbows apart until every part had come to rest.