The imam who remembers his state of ritual impurity before the closing salam
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner:
Honorable Shaykh, may Allah grant you success. A questioner says: I prayed Maghrib yesterday, leading the congregation. I did not realize I was in a state of ritual impurity until the final tashahhud, before the closing salam. So I completed the prayer and said the salam with them, and I did not inform them. He asks: What is required of me now?
The Shaykh:
If you remember while you are praying that you are not in a state of wudu, then your prayer and theirs are invalid. However, if the prayer is completed and you do not remember until after you have said the salam, then their prayer is valid and your prayer is invalid. Yes.
The questioner:
Honorable Shaykh, may Allah grant you success.
The Shaykh:
It is permissible for you to continue while knowing that you are not in a state of wudu. It is obligatory for you to exit and inform them that you are not in a state of wudu. Then either they wait for you and you restart the prayer with them from the beginning, or they choose one of them to lead them and start the prayer anew.
Honorable Shaykh, may Allah grant you success. A questioner says: I prayed Maghrib yesterday, leading the congregation. I did not realize I was in a state of ritual impurity until the final tashahhud, before the closing salam. So I completed the prayer and said the salam with them, and I did not inform them. He asks: What is required of me now?
The Shaykh:
If you remember while you are praying that you are not in a state of wudu, then your prayer and theirs are invalid. However, if the prayer is completed and you do not remember until after you have said the salam, then their prayer is valid and your prayer is invalid. Yes.
The questioner:
Honorable Shaykh, may Allah grant you success.
The Shaykh:
It is permissible for you to continue while knowing that you are not in a state of wudu. It is obligatory for you to exit and inform them that you are not in a state of wudu. Then either they wait for you and you restart the prayer with them from the beginning, or they choose one of them to lead them and start the prayer anew.
Source
شرح إغاثة اللهفان من مصائد الشيطان لابن القيم، ذكر الآثار عن التابعين — islamhouse.com (1:12:07)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.