Does the follower say the closing salam after the imam's second salam or after the first?

The questioner : The information I had previously was that after the imam says the two salams, the follower says the salam, but, as Allah knows best, I saw you...?

The Shaykh : This is not a principle; it has no basis in the Sunnah at all. Rather, the apparent evidence obligates the opposite. The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said: to the end of the hadith. So here, if the imam says the first salam—linguistically—do we say the imam has said the salam or not? I think you, as Arabs, will agree with me, and I am a non-Arab, that the meaning of "if the imam says the first salam" is that the imam has said the salam. So why don't we say: ? And by analogy to what came before regarding the Messenger's mention of some of the components and obligations of the prayer, and so on, why don't we say "if the imam says the salam, then say the salam"? Especially since there is a Sunnah known to the people of the Sunnah but unknown to most of those who follow some of the schools of jurisprudence: that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) sometimes limited himself to a single salam. So if I were to lead you, for example, and I wanted to revive this Sunnah with you, and I said, "Peace be upon you," and I remained silent, what would you be waiting for? You would be waiting for the second salam. Where is the evidence for this? "If the imam says the salam, then say the salam." This waiting is only valid to adopt, and it can be said in the case where it is our opinion that each of the two salams is a condition or a pillar of the prayer, meaning the saying of the Messenger (peace be upon him): . Do we interpret the salam here as the two salams or as the first salam? There is no doubt that the second interpretation is correct in light of what we mentioned about the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) sometimes limiting himself to the single salam. Since the second salam is not a condition, but rather a completing Sunnah, the obligatory part is the first salam. So if the imam says the first salam, does that permit the worshipper to exit the prayer? The answer is yes. So its permissibility is the salam, meaning the first salam. So if the imam says, "Peace be upon you," we follow him and do not lag behind him. If he adds the second salam, as is the practice of most imams, we follow him in that as well. But if we adopt the view that the follower's salam is after the imam says the second salam, we might stand here waiting for the imam's second salam, and he will not do it. For this and that reason, we say: if he says the first salam, then say the salam; and if he says the second salam, then say the salam; and if he does not say it, wait. Are we among the waiters with you? No.
This is what I have, and praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds.