Which is preferred for leading the prayer: the one who has memorized the Qur'an but does not have a beautiful voice, or the one who has a beautiful voice but has not memorized it?

Question:
Honorable Shaykh, there is a man who has memorized the Qur'an and is proficient in it, but he does not have a beautiful voice. Another man has a beautiful voice, but he has not memorized it. Which of the two is preferred to lead the prayer if the imam is absent?

Answer:
Recitation in the obligatory prayer does not require much memorization. Memorizing the short surahs is sufficient, praise be to Allah.
This is only in the case of the tarawih prayer. It is the tahajjud prayer that requires memorization. As for the obligatory prayer, one recites whatever is easy for him from the Qur'an, even if it is a short surah, or even one or two verses. There is no need for much memorization. I do not think there is a Muslim here who does not memorize anything from the Qur'an; that is rare, because there are Muslims here, especially in our present time with the spread of education, praise be to Allah. I do not think there is a Muslim here who does not memorize anything from the Qur'an, even if it is a little. The criterion is the excellence of the recitation. The one who recites well is preferred, even if his memorization is little. Yes.