What is the meaning of the hadith: "The imam does not stand in a place higher than their place"?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : May Allah bless you. We have some questions, O our Shaykh, if you permit.
The Shaykh : Go ahead.
The questioner : In Sahih al-Jami' there is a hadith:Sunan Abi Dawud 598Hasan li ghairih (Al-Albani).
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner : What is meant by this place that is higher than his position? Is it an elevated place, or is a carpet or mat laid out for him?
The Shaykh : First, the intended meaning is the elevated place, meaning, for example, a pulpit or a concrete platform or something similar. This is the first thing that comes to mind from the hadith. However, a broader meaning can be derived from the hadith than this, which is what came in your question, namely that the imam should not distinguish himself in his position from those who follow him, even with a special mat that he uses exclusively, as most people do in most mosques.
The questioner : And I have a special mat.
The Shaykh : Yes, is that clear?
The questioner : Yes, it is clear. May Allah bless you.
The Shaykh : Someone else.
The Shaykh : Go ahead.
The questioner : In Sahih al-Jami' there is a hadith:
When a man leads the people in prayer, he must not stand in a position higher than theirs
إذا أم الرجل القوم فلا يقم في مكان أرفع من مقامهمThe Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner : What is meant by this place that is higher than his position? Is it an elevated place, or is a carpet or mat laid out for him?
The Shaykh : First, the intended meaning is the elevated place, meaning, for example, a pulpit or a concrete platform or something similar. This is the first thing that comes to mind from the hadith. However, a broader meaning can be derived from the hadith than this, which is what came in your question, namely that the imam should not distinguish himself in his position from those who follow him, even with a special mat that he uses exclusively, as most people do in most mosques.
The questioner : And I have a special mat.
The Shaykh : Yes, is that clear?
The questioner : Yes, it is clear. May Allah bless you.
The Shaykh : Someone else.
Source
سلسلة الهدى والنور، رقم 944 في قناة «تسجيلات الإمام الألباني - محمد أبو ليلى الأثري» — youtube.com (1:10:02)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.