Ruling on the imam being covered from behind by a standing follower

Question:
Another person asks, saying: An elderly man who is bedridden prays behind the imam, directly opposite him from the back. The imam told him: It is not permissible for you to be behind me because you do not cover me. Is this correct?

Answer:
This has no basis, and it is ignorance on the part of the imam. It is not a condition for the one behind the imam to cover the imam. The imam is not an awrah (part of the body that must be covered) that needs to be covered. The imam is not an awrah; the imam’s awrah is covered, and he is standing and leading the people in prayer. Whether the one behind him is short or tall, he may be short by nature, half the height of men, or tall. That does not matter, whether he is short or tall, and whether he is standing and healthy or sitting due to an ailment, such as a sick person praying behind the imam while sitting. There is nothing wrong with this.
If the imam says that you do not cover him, that is ignorance. The imam who says this has no insight. He... covers the imam. The imam is covered by what Allah has covered him with in clothing, and the follower does not cover him, even if he had no clothes on...
So the conclusion: That this is the talk of an ignorant person, with no basis.