Is the one who shaves his beard considered an open sinner, and is it valid for him to lead people in prayer?

Question:
May Allah reward you. Your Eminence, father, the questioner asks: Is the one who shaves his beard considered an open sinner? And is it valid for him to lead people in prayer?

Answer:
He is not called an open sinner, because an open sinner is one who commits a major sin. Shaving the beard is a sin and forbidden, but it does not reach the level of a major sin. Not every forbidden act is a major sin. However, some scholars say that if he persists in it and openly displays it—if he openly commits the sin, persists in it, and continues doing it—it becomes a major sin. But originally, it is not a major sin. As for leading people in prayer, he is not appointed as an imam in the mosque, or in a situation of choice if a group of people gather to pray, they do not give him priority. But if you come and find them praying behind a person who has shaved his beard, pray with them; do not abandon the congregational prayer.