Assalamu alaykum wa rahmatuillah, One imam most of the time does not pause after each aayat. I have read that this is a neglected sunnah. What is the status of this? Some brothers are even deciding not to pray behind him. Jazaka Allah Khayran, Abu Matin

Alhamdu Lillah

   Um Salamah RAA (one of the wives of the Prophet SAAW and the mother of the believers) narrated authentically that the Prophet SAAW used to pause the Ayat in Surat Al-Fatihah by stopping at the end of each Ayah.  But this Hadith does not indicate the obligation of doing so; rather, it is recommended to stop by the end of each Ayah. None of our scholars -to the best of my knowledge- questioned the validity of the Salah if the Imam did not apply this Sunnah, especially when the rules of Tajweed are observed accordingly.

 Nevertheless, and since the Prophet SAAW said (Pray as you have seen me pray), it is a highly recommended act in the Salah to pause at the end of each Ayah in Surat Al-Fatihah.