The imam remembers during the prayer that he is not in a state of wudu, so what is obligatory for him and for the ma'mum?
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Question:
He says: Honorable Shaykh, may Allah grant you success. An imam prayed with the people, and during the prayer he remembered that he was not in a state of wudu at all. What is the ruling in that? And what is obligatory for the imam and the one praying?
Answer:
It is obligatory for the imam to exit; he should hasten to exit and not continue. He should say to the praying people, "I am not in a state of wudu; there is no harm." He should say, "Wait until I come back," and not have one person step forward and leave him to start the prayer with them anew. They are no longer waiting for him; he should have one person pray with them. Yes.
He says: Honorable Shaykh, may Allah grant you success. An imam prayed with the people, and during the prayer he remembered that he was not in a state of wudu at all. What is the ruling in that? And what is obligatory for the imam and the one praying?
Answer:
It is obligatory for the imam to exit; he should hasten to exit and not continue. He should say to the praying people, "I am not in a state of wudu; there is no harm." He should say, "Wait until I come back," and not have one person step forward and leave him to start the prayer with them anew. They are no longer waiting for him; he should have one person pray with them. Yes.
Source
قناة «العلامة الدكتور صالح الفوزان»، [489 -1024] إمام أثناء الصلاة تذكر أنه على غير وضوء، فماذا يجب عليه وعلى المأمومين؟ — youtube.com
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.