Is it permissible for the ma'mum (one praying behind the imam) to be higher than the imam?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : All right, the ma'mum being higher? 'Urwah or 'Abd al-Mannan?
The Shaykh : I mean, there is nothing wrong with it? There is nothing wrong with it. All right, why did we say there is nothing wrong with it? Yes. Higher, higher, as you like. I mean, for example, the imam is here and the ma'mum is above. Yes.
The questioner : They say that the original basis of imamah (leading the prayer) is elevation in status, so when he is elevated above him, it is as if his intention is arrogance. As for the ma'mum, there is no status of imamah in his position.
The Shaykh : This requires the opposite: how is it that imamah requires the imam to be higher, and then he ends up being lower?
The questioner : This is the statement of the author of the marginal notes. Shaykh, nothing has been reported from Ahmad.
The Shaykh : Correct, this is it, because no prohibition has been reported in this matter. The congregation is achieved by elevation or equality; that is, the congregation is achieved whether the ma'mum is higher than the imam or equal to him. And if no prohibition has been reported, the default is validity and proof. This is what led us to say that the imam being higher, even if it exceeds an arm's length, is permissible, based on the fact that the hadith is weak and does not constitute proof. All right.
The Shaykh : I mean, there is nothing wrong with it? There is nothing wrong with it. All right, why did we say there is nothing wrong with it? Yes. Higher, higher, as you like. I mean, for example, the imam is here and the ma'mum is above. Yes.
The questioner : They say that the original basis of imamah (leading the prayer) is elevation in status, so when he is elevated above him, it is as if his intention is arrogance. As for the ma'mum, there is no status of imamah in his position.
The Shaykh : This requires the opposite: how is it that imamah requires the imam to be higher, and then he ends up being lower?
The questioner : This is the statement of the author of the marginal notes. Shaykh, nothing has been reported from Ahmad.
The Shaykh : Correct, this is it, because no prohibition has been reported in this matter. The congregation is achieved by elevation or equality; that is, the congregation is achieved whether the ma'mum is higher than the imam or equal to him. And if no prohibition has been reported, the default is validity and proof. This is what led us to say that the imam being higher, even if it exceeds an arm's length, is permissible, based on the fact that the hadith is weak and does not constitute proof. All right.
Source
قناة «فضيلة الشيخ محمد بن صالح العثيمين»، 3503هل يجوز أن يكون المأموم أعلى من الإمام؟📔 الشرح الممتع على زاد المستقنع - ابن عثيمين — youtube.com
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.