Is it prescribed for the imam to stand in the middle of the row?

The questioner : Noble Shaykh, is it a condition that the imam stand in the middle of the row?

The Shaykh : What?

The questioner : The imam stands in the middle of the row.

The Shaykh : Yes, it is a recommended practice (sunnah) for the imam to stand in the middle of the row, meaning that some of the people are on his right and some on his left, and neither side is distinguished from the other by a significant difference. The evidence for this is that the arrangement of the rows was, in the beginning, for two men to stand with the imam, with the third between them. Pay attention! In the beginning, the three would stand in a row together, with the imam in the middle, one on his right and the other on his left. If the right side had been absolutely superior, the two men would have stood on the right. However, the imam must be in the middle or close to the middle, except that this characteristic was abrogated, and it became three people with their imam leading them, and the two men standing behind him. In any case, the recommended practice (sunnah) is for the imam to be in the middle. A hadith has been reported on this matter, but it is weak , although many scholars have deemed it weak.