Not to Get ahead of the Imam in Coming up from Bowing or Prostration

830. Abu Hurayra, may Allah be pleased with him, reported that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “Do not those of you who raise their heads before the Imam fear lest Allah turn their heads into donkey-heads or that Allah will make their shape that of a donkey?” (Sahih al-Bukhari, Adhan, 53; Sahih Muslim, Salah, 114).
Annotation: The Daily Prayers are for humanity. But if people do not act within the limits they should, their movements are likened to animals. So acting before the imam does is a form of transgressing the limits to be observed.

 

Nawawi, Imam. Riyad As-Salihin; The Gardens of the Righteous: A collection of authentic hadiths. Tughra Books Press, Inc. 2014