Discussion of the issue of the imam standing for the fifth rak'ah: should the congregation follow him or not?

The questioner : The imam standing for the fifth rak'ah means, in your argument using the hadith of Ibn Mas'ud, that the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) did not recite the tasbih or wake up the Messenger. It is possible that this was during the period of legislation, when the revelation was descending, changing the four-unit prayer to five units, and so on for other prayers if there is a text regarding them. But now, legislation has ended, so if the worshippers remember...

The Shaykh : I was sleepy, apparently, in the lesson?!

The questioner : By Allah, I am tired, but...

The Shaykh : Tired, in the same sense as sleepy. This answer was given previously, my brother. If the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) had known that there was a difference in this ruling between what happened before the completion of legislation and after legislation, he would have clarified that: . This is one point. The second is that we clarified the hadith of Anas ibn Malik: ...
So we said that to achieve following the imam, one drops a pillar. Now, dropping a pillar: the original ruling is that a prayer from which a pillar is dropped is invalid. This prayer is invalid. Likewise, we said that one who adds a rak'ah to the prescribed prayer, that prayer is invalid. So what makes the prayer there valid despite the dropping of a pillar is the same thing that makes the prayer here valid despite the addition of a pillar. Both the decrease and the increase of a pillar invalidate the prayer. Did you hear this? If you did not grasp it... Allah knows best. And it is not important regarding what has passed. What is important now is: is the answer clear to you?

The questioner : Yes, it is clear.

The Shaykh : Praise be to Allah.