The ruling on following an imam who leaves out some of the sunnahs of prayer, such as not placing the hands together in prayer

Question:
We have an imam in Madinah who prays with us, but he does not perform some of the sunnahs, such as placing the hands together; he leaves his hands at his sides. He also does not perform the rest between the two prostrations, although he knows it is a sunnah, but he does not do it, along with some other things he does not do. So, are we required to follow this imam, in accordance with the hadith of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), “The imam is appointed to be followed,” or are we required to follow the sunnah of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), in accordance with his saying, “Pray as you have seen me praying”?

Answer:
Yes, placing the hands on the chest is a sunnah. If the imam leaves it out, this does not invalidate his imamate, nor does it prevent praying behind him; because he is one who leaves out a sunnah. But you act according to the sunnah, so you place your hands on your chests, even if the imam does not do so. You act according to the sunnah. As for him not sitting for the rest, the majority of scholars hold that it is not prescribed. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) only did it at the end of his life when prayer became heavy for him (peace and blessings be upon him). So he did it out of need, not for the purpose of legislating it in prayer. Therefore, the correct view is that it is not prescribed.
The conclusion is that if the imam leaves out something from the sunnahs of prayer, this does not prevent praying behind him, but the one praying behind him performs these sunnahs.