The ruling on the prayer of an imam who deviated from the qiblah in a zoo

Question:
He also says, may Allah preserve you: I saw another man leading people in prayer while they were praying in a zoo, and they were deviating from the qiblah. I alerted the imam, but he did not respond. So I came and directed him, turning him toward the qiblah. He then continued his prayer based on what he had already done. Is his prayer valid?

Answer:
If the deviation is significant, such that the qiblah is on his side or behind his back, it is not valid; his prayer is not valid. However, if the deviation is slight, like what you heard, where the direction between the east and the west is the qiblah, then if the deviation is slight, it is a valid prayer.