What is the ruling on the prayer of one who prayed behind a Pakistani imam who does not know how to recite Surat al-Fatihah correctly, saying for example al-Rakhman instead of al-Rahman, or

The Shaykh : Yes.

The questioner : May Allah preserve you, O Shaykh. I prayed 'Isha' today behind an imam from Pakistan who does not know how to recite al-Fatihah. For example, he says al-Rakhman instead of al-Rahman, and he says al-Rahim instead of al-Rahim, and so on with the rest of the verses. Is my prayer and the prayer of those behind him valid, and what is obligatory for me regarding him if my prayer behind him is not valid?

The Shaykh : In fact, this issue is observed in some mosques, where even some Arab imams, like the common people, do not recite the Qur'an well. Whether he is Arab or non-Arab, it is not permissible for one who knows that he does not recite the Qur'an well to stand before the people and lead them in prayer as an imam, because he bears a responsibility that may invalidate his own prayer. It was reported in some authentic hadiths that he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: The imam is responsible for the validity of the prayer of the one following him. If he invalidates it for them, he is accountable not only for his own prayer, but for the prayers of those who followed him which he invalidated for them. Imam al-Bukhari narrated in his *Sahih* what serves as an answer to a question like this, namely his saying (peace and blessings be upon him) regarding imams: Therefore, if the imam's prayer is valid, it is valid for him and valid for those following him behind him. But if his prayer is not valid, either it is fundamentally invalid or it is deficient in reward, as we mentioned in the previous hadith: to the end of the hadith. If his prayer is invalid or deficient, it is so for the imam. But as for those following him, their prayer is valid, even if the imam neglected it, either completely or partially.
From this comes the issue in which the jurists differed, and this is the correct view, because the jurists say: if the follower follows an imam, is the criterion the opinion of the follower or the opinion of the imam? There are two schools of thought: the school of the majority, the Hanafis, the Shafi'is, and others, is that the criterion is the opinion of the follower. The Malikis and others held that the criterion is the opinion of the imam. So if the imam's prayer is valid, it validates the prayer of the follower, even if the follower's prayer, in his own view, is not valid for him. For example: an imam leads the people in prayer, and blood comes out of him. The one praying behind him is of the Hanafi school and believes that blood coming out invalidates the ablution. This imam had blood come out of him and did not renew his ablution, but led the people in prayer. So this imam's prayer is valid according to his school, but according to the Hanafi follower, his prayer is invalid. So is the opinion in judging this prayer based on the imam's school or the follower's school? You have heard the answer in the authentic hadith: Therefore, here are two matters that must be observed. The first is that the one praying must choose the imam he prays behind well, so he does not pray behind such a non-Arab who changes the un-dotted ha' to the dotted kha', or changes the 'ayn to the alif, and so on, and there is a lot of this. If he cannot find anyone but such an imam, the imam bears the responsibility for the invalidity of the prayer if something occurs from him that invalidates his prayer. So the criterion is the opinion of the imam, not the opinion of the follower. Yes.