The Imam’s Appointment of a Successor if His Ablution is Broken During Prayer

The questioner:
Honorable Shaykh, may Allah grant you success. He says: If the imam’s ablution is broken during the prayer, does he appoint a successor from among the congregation, or is their prayer invalid, or what do they do?

The Shaykh:
This is a matter where, if the state of ritual impurity overtakes him, and he appoints a successor, the prayer is valid. If he feels that his ablution will be broken if he continues, he appoints someone to complete the prayer, and their prayer is valid by consensus. But if the state of ritual impurity overtakes him, is the prayer of those behind him invalid and they restart it, or do they remain in their prayer? One of them completes it for them. There is scholarly disagreement on this, and the school of thought holds that it is invalid. The school of thought states that if the state of ritual impurity overtakes him, his prayer is invalid, and if his prayer is invalid, the prayer of the congregation is invalid. This is the school of thought.

The questioner:
Honorable Shaykh, may Allah grant you success. He says: Is the Fajr prayer valid?

The Shaykh:
The prayer of the one praying behind the imam is invalid if the imam’s prayer is invalid. Yes.

The questioner:
Honorable Shaykh, may Allah grant you success. Is the obligatory prayer valid?

The Shaykh:
The prayer of the one praying behind the imam is invalid if the imam’s prayer is invalid, so there is no appointment of a successor, meaning he does not appoint a successor after the state of ritual impurity overtakes him.