Hadith 9
Narrated by Anas ibn Mālik (Allah be pleased with him): “I have never prayed behind any imam whose prayer was lighter, nor more complete, than the prayer of the Prophet ﷺ.”

Overall meaning:
Anas ibn Mālik affirms that, of all the imams behind whom he prayed, the prayer he performed behind the Greatest Imam ﷺ was the lightest—never burdensome to the congregation, so they left it still eager to pray again. Yet no prayer was more complete than his, for the Prophet ﷺ fulfilled it perfectly, omitting nothing, and perfected it by safeguarding its obligations and recommended elements. This reflects the blessing inherent in him ﷺ.

Points derived from the hadith:

1. The imam should keep the prayer light so as not to strain the worshipers, yet complete so that none of its reward is lost. Its completeness lies in performing its obligations and recommended acts without undue prolongation, while its lightness lies in limiting himself to the obligations and some recommended acts.
2. The Prophet’s prayer ﷺ is the most perfect model; the worshiper should strive to make his own prayer like it, thereby attaining the virtue of following his example and the greatness of its reward.
3. The report shows the permissibility of a person of lesser merit leading someone of greater merit, on the assumption that Anas—Allah be pleased with him—was superior to those he led other than the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. The resident imam of a mosque has priority over others even if someone more virtuous is present, because he is the appointed imam. Shaykh al-Islām Ibn Taymiyyah stated that a ruler in authority has the same standing as the resident imam.

Hadith 10
On the authority of Abū Qilābah (1) ʿAbd Allāh ibn Zayd al-Jarmī al-Baṣrī, who said: “Mālik ibn al-Ḥuwayrith came to us in this very mosque and said, ‘I am leading you in prayer, though I do not intend the prayer itself; rather, I wish to show you how I saw the Messenger of Allah ﷺ pray.’
“So I asked Abū Qilābah, ‘How did he pray?’ He replied, ‘Like the prayer of this shaykh of ours’—meaning Abū Yazīd ʿAmr ibn Salamah al-Jarmī—‘and he would sit, after raising his head from prostration, before standing up.’