The imam who pauses after al-Fatihah to allow the followers to recite, given that the reports regarding this are not authentic: does he sin for doing so?

The Shaykh: Go ahead.

The questioner : I read in Mishkat al-Masabih some time ago that there is no pause after and that the hadith reported regarding it is weak. Some imams pause; for example, they might say, "I will pause for a brief moment to allow the followers to recite al-Fatihah." Does he sin, since there is no evidence for the pause?

The Shaykh : May Allah reward you. The answer to this depends on his personal conviction. If he follows the path of the scholars to know 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 ruling for him, and he then acts upon their ruling, he does not 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 (a scholar qualified to derive rulings) and his independent legal reasoning led him to this long pause that enables the followers to recite al-Fatihah, in which case he is not only not sinful but is rewarded in any case. Or, he is not among the scholars or those who perform independent legal reasoning, but rather he asked some people he believes to be knowledgeable, and they told him that this pause was reported, so he pauses based on that, and in that case, he also does not sin. Sin only attaches to the one who is obligated to act if he follows his own desires and issues a ruling for himself or others without knowledge. Is the answer heard?

The questioner : May Allah reward you.