Is it permissible for me to pray behind a Sufi imam who declares that he is a Sufi?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : O Shaykh, if there is a Sufi imam who declares that he is a Sufi, and he is the imam of a mosque, is it permissible for me to pray behind him?
The Shaykh : And what do you understand from his declaration that he is a Sufi? That he is a Muslim or a disbeliever?
The questioner : A Muslim. I would not say he is a disbeliever.
The Shaykh : Yes, prayer behind every Muslim is permissible, because we have received from the predecessors the validity of prayer behind every righteous person and every open sinner. So as long as you see that he is still within the circle of Islam and Muslims, the prayer behind him is valid. However, every Muslim should choose a Sunni Salafi imam who is knowledgeable and mindful of Allah. If he does that and does not find an imam possessing such qualities, there is nothing wrong with him if he prays behind a follower of the later generations or a Sufi, as long as he is still within the circle of Islam and Muslims.
The Shaykh : And what do you understand from his declaration that he is a Sufi? That he is a Muslim or a disbeliever?
The questioner : A Muslim. I would not say he is a disbeliever.
The Shaykh : Yes, prayer behind every Muslim is permissible, because we have received from the predecessors the validity of prayer behind every righteous person and every open sinner. So as long as you see that he is still within the circle of Islam and Muslims, the prayer behind him is valid. However, every Muslim should choose a Sunni Salafi imam who is knowledgeable and mindful of Allah. If he does that and does not find an imam possessing such qualities, there is nothing wrong with him if he prays behind a follower of the later generations or a Sufi, as long as he is still within the circle of Islam and Muslims.
Source
www.al-albany.com
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.