Does the imam who pauses after reciting al-Fatihah to give the ma'mum the opportunity to recite al-Fatihah commit a sin?

The questioner : I read in Mishkat al-Masabih that, for example, there is no pause after "wa la al-dallin" because the hadith regarding it is weak. So some imams pause and say, "I want to pause for a while," and I tell you that he pauses for a short time to allow the ma'mum to recite al-Fatihah. Does he commit a sin since there is no evidence for the pause?

The Shaykh : May Allah reward you. The answer to whether he commits a sin or not depends on his personal conviction. If he follows the path of the scholars in seeking the truth in matters where people differ, or if he follows a path other than that of the scholars by asking the scholars and they issue a fatwa for him, and he then adopts their fatwa, he does not commit a sin. However, if he acts stubbornly and follows his own desires, he is sinful. Is my speech clear? I mean, either he is a mujtahid and his independent legal reasoning leads him to this long pause in which the followers are able to recite al-Fatihah, in which case he is not sinful, but rather he is rewarded in any case. Or he is not one of the scholars or mujtahids, but rather he asked some people he believes to have knowledge, and they issued a fatwa that this pause is established, so based on that he pauses, and in that case he also does not commit a sin. Sin only attaches to the one obligated if he follows his desires and issues a fatwa for himself or others without knowledge. Is the answer heard?

The questioner : May Allah reward you. Yes, indeed.