The benefits of the hadith regarding the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) sitting on the pulpit.
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The Shaykh : It appears that al-Bukhari (may Allah have mercy on him) used his statement: as evidence that they are looking at him. If it were not the case that they are seeking to look at him, there would be no benefit to sitting around him other than listening to the voice, and the voice can be heard even from a distance.
However, the ruling of the issue is that the imam faces the congregation, and this is one of the places where turning one’s back to the qiblah is prescribed. So here, if he faced the qiblah, we would say he made a mistake and contradicted the Sunnah. The Sunnah is to face the congregation, and the qiblah is necessarily behind you.
As for the congregation, they face the imam as much as possible. It has been narrated that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said that the Companions, when he stood to deliver the sermon, would face him with their faces, but the hadith is not on the condition of al-Bukhari.
And this is if seeing him is possible. But if it is not possible and there are speakers in the mosque, should the congregation face these speakers, because a person’s listening and attention are stronger if he faces the sound? Or do we say that in this situation, where they do not see the imam but only hear his voice, it is better for them to face the qiblah while sitting, unless it is not possible to hear well unless they face the speaker. In that case, we say face the speaker, provided it does not disturb the people. If it does disturb them, then do not. For example, if a person finds the speaker on his left or right and then turns around, the people see him and are disturbed and distracted, and perhaps someone might speak to him.
And he commented on the athar of Ibn 'Umar and Anas that they used to face the imam. Yes.
And we sat around him
وجلسنا حولهHowever, the ruling of the issue is that the imam faces the congregation, and this is one of the places where turning one’s back to the qiblah is prescribed. So here, if he faced the qiblah, we would say he made a mistake and contradicted the Sunnah. The Sunnah is to face the congregation, and the qiblah is necessarily behind you.
As for the congregation, they face the imam as much as possible. It has been narrated that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said that the Companions, when he stood to deliver the sermon, would face him with their faces, but the hadith is not on the condition of al-Bukhari.
And this is if seeing him is possible. But if it is not possible and there are speakers in the mosque, should the congregation face these speakers, because a person’s listening and attention are stronger if he faces the sound? Or do we say that in this situation, where they do not see the imam but only hear his voice, it is better for them to face the qiblah while sitting, unless it is not possible to hear well unless they face the speaker. In that case, we say face the speaker, provided it does not disturb the people. If it does disturb them, then do not. For example, if a person finds the speaker on his left or right and then turns around, the people see him and are disturbed and distracted, and perhaps someone might speak to him.
And he commented on the athar of Ibn 'Umar and Anas that they used to face the imam. Yes.