Is the prayer valid behind a fasiq (open sinner)?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Question:
May Allah reward you. Honorable Shaykh, he says: Is the prayer valid behind a fasiq (open sinner), such as one who drinks intoxicants or smokes, or is he a Muslim? So, does he pray behind a fasiq (open sinner), or does he find someone else, or someone who is better in religion?
Answer:
We pray behind the just, behind the pious, behind the believer with complete faith or strong faith, as long as he is able. But if he is not able and there are only these people, he prays behind this imam, even if he does not pray with them; he prays alone, or he prays with the congregation behind the individual, and he does not leave the congregation. As for a person who finds an imam other than this one who is more pious and better in religion, it is obligatory for him to go and pray behind him.
May Allah reward you. Honorable Shaykh, he says: Is the prayer valid behind a fasiq (open sinner), such as one who drinks intoxicants or smokes, or is he a Muslim? So, does he pray behind a fasiq (open sinner), or does he find someone else, or someone who is better in religion?
Answer:
We pray behind the just, behind the pious, behind the believer with complete faith or strong faith, as long as he is able. But if he is not able and there are only these people, he prays behind this imam, even if he does not pray with them; he prays alone, or he prays with the congregation behind the individual, and he does not leave the congregation. As for a person who finds an imam other than this one who is more pious and better in religion, it is obligatory for him to go and pray behind him.
Source
قناة «العلامة الدكتور صالح الفوزان»، هل تصح الصلاة خلف الفاسق؟ لمعالي الشيخ صالح الفوزان — youtube.com
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.