Does the follower follow the imam in placing his right hand over his left in prayer?

The questioner : Shaykh, regarding the issue of following the imam, a Muslim might object and say, "You did not mention in a hadith that one should place the right hand over the left in prayer; rather, the meaning of the hadith is, 'When he bows, bow, and when he prostrates, prostrate.' What is your opinion?"

The Shaykh : How was it not mentioned?

The questioner : The meaning of the hadith is that one follows the imam in his actions, so when he bows, bow, and when he prostrates, prostrate, but the method of placing the right hand over the left in following him was not mentioned?

The Shaykh : But there is no difference, and do not differ with him.

The questioner : But specifically regarding the issue of placing the right hand over the left?

The Shaykh : We asked the other person here a moment ago a question because I knew the answer would be correct. Now the question is directed to you in another way. The imam forgot, as we mentioned in some of the previous answers, he forgot the first tashahhud and stood up for the third rak'ah, or he forgot the second tashahhud and stood up for the fifth rak'ah. What would you do?

The questioner : Continue.

The Shaykh : It was not mentioned in the hadith. Was it mentioned in the hadith?

The questioner : No.

The Shaykh : There is no difference between this which was not mentioned in the hadith and the position which was not mentioned in the hadith. In other words, if I lower my hands following the imam, as you do if you follow him in his error, because he is your imam, then this and that are not mentioned in the hadith. But I say they are mentioned in the hadith. Why? . The continuation of the hadith is not by way of restriction, but by way of example, from one aspect. Is the speech clear up to here? And from another aspect, I gave you the greatest example so that you understand, a fortiori, the example below it. He said: . You know that standing is a pillar of the prayer, so He dropped this pillar from you to realize your following of the imam who sat down and prayed sitting, knowing that he is excused and you are not excused. Why did He order you to participate in the sitting, when he is excused in it and you are not excused in it? I say: You are excused in it just as he is excused in it, but your excuse is different from his excuse. Your excuse is following the imam, and his excuse is physical and material. Is that clear?
The Shaykh: The second hadith confirms this for you: . So he prays like this and you pray like this; this is a difference. .
The Shaykh: This is the reality of the Sunnah, and by the Sunnah I mean as a hadith, and it is present in the Sunnah as one of the strong legal means for eliminating the innovation of sectarian fanaticism, whether from the followers of a madhhab or from the followers of the evidence. As for the followers of a madhhab, we, considering that we are followers of the evidence, must continue quickly, but we want to understand the second point, because some of the fanatics among us, among the followers of the evidence, say, "What makes us leave the Sunnah? This is an unjust Sufi imam, so and so, and so on," and they string it together and give a lecture on it. I say, Shaykh, we are not leaving this Sunnah for the sake of this Sufi imam who is a follower of innovation. We explained a moment ago why, because this represents an imam who is advanced, whom you cannot touch with any bad word from his speech, until he returns to a Companion of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). So we follow this imam despite his flaws and shortcomings. If you do not like it, look for someone else. We do not say to you that it is obligatory upon you.

The questioner : Regarding the addition, "When he says the taslim, say the taslim"?

The Shaykh : No. It is not there.

The questioner : May Allah reward you with good... Do I perform 'Umrah?