Is the prayer valid behind an imam who has shaved his beard?
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The questioner: My master, may Allah reward you with good.
The Shaykh: May Allah preserve you!
The questioner: Is it permissible to pray behind an imam who has shaved his beard?!
The Shaykh: Yes, it is permissible to pray, and his sin is on his own side!
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : And He said - the Exalted - :[An-Najm 53:36] Do you see what I am saying now?[An-Najm 53:36] I did not say: "Allah the Exalted said" after "I seek refuge in Allah from the accursed Satan," or "Allah the Exalted said: I seek refuge in Allah from the accursed Satan." I was asked a question and I began by saying: "He said - the Exalted - :[An-Najm 53:36-39] This imam who prays while having shaved his beard is, without a doubt, considered an open sinner; he is considered an open sinner. However, his open sinfulness does not impose any obligation on the people praying behind him. Why?[Al-An'am 6:164] If the Messenger (peace be upon him) - once a man from the Companions, whose kunya was Abu ..., came to him holding a child, leading him along with him, and said: He said: "This is my son." He said:Sunan an-Nasa'i 4832Sahih (Darussalam) That is, if you commit [a sin]. As for the people praying behind him, if the choice is in their hands, they should select the most reciting, the most knowledgeable, and the most God-fearing person to lead them. But if the choice is not in their hands, as is the case now, then they bear no responsibility. In the early period, even though it was the best of times, unbelievable events occurred. Nevertheless, the Salaf used to pray. Do you not hear about al-Hajjaj? Is there anyone who does not know al-Hajjaj?!
The questioner: Absolutely.
The Shaykh: What was al-Hajjaj the tyrant, the destroyer?! He was the governor of Iraq.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh: He used to lead the people in prayer as an imam. Abdullah ibn 'Umar ibn al-Khattab used to pray behind him. What do you think, was this al-Hajjaj righteous or wicked?! It is enough that he was a tyrant!
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh: A tyrant, a destroyer, he killed the great scholars of the Tabi'un, among them Sa'id ibn Jubayr, the student of Abdullah ibn 'Abbas, the interpreter of the Qur'an!!
The questioner: Allah is the Greatest!!
The Shaykh: Yet Ibn 'Umar used to pray behind him, because he was the governor, the ruler.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh: Likewise, if the ruler appoints an imam for you, and he prays with you while being an open sinner, a wicked person, having shaved his beard, wearing trousers, eating riba (usury or interest), dealing in riba (usury or interest), and so on, you have nothing to do with his burden. But if the matter is in your hands, then choose the most knowledgeable among you, the best reciter, the most righteous. If you have no control over it, then our Lord, do not hold us accountable. So what happened in the time of that era?! More than Ibn 'Umar praying behind al-Hajjaj, there was a man among the governors, I swear by Allah I forgot his name!! 'Uqba, I don't know what!
The student : ....
The Shaykh: Yes? The important thing is that he prayed the Fajr prayer one day while intoxicated. He prayed Fajr with them as four rak'ahs, and when he finished the taslim, he said to them: Shall I add more for you?
The questioner: Hehehe.
The Shaykh: Shall I add more for you?
The questioner: In the time of 'Abd al-Malik, my sheikhs, hey?
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner: The Umayyads.
The Shaykh: In the time of the Umayyads, so now they are among them, yes?!
The questioner: 'Uqba ibn Abi Mu'ayt?!
The Shaykh: 'Uqba is the name, but I forgot, by Allah, the son of whom!
The questioner: Al-Walid ibn 'Uqba.
The Shaykh: It could be al-Walid, or al-Walid ibn 'Uqba.
The questioner: Ibn Abi Mu'ayt.
The Shaykh: Without this talk, we have forgotten them now. Al-Walid ibn 'Uqba, Allah knows best. He was a governor and he prayed Fajr with them like this. Therefore, the later generations inherited from the earliest generations in their beliefs: "That it is a belief of the Salaf that one prays behind every righteous and wicked person, and one prays over every righteous and wicked person." One prays behind every righteous and wicked person, and one prays over the dead, whether he was wicked or righteous.
The questioner: And what if he is one who abandons prayer?
The Shaykh: And what if he is one who abandons prayer, this has no relation to your first question, the first hadith.
The questioner: Ah...
The Shaykh: Hehehe, did you forget it?
The Shaykh: May Allah preserve you!
The questioner: Is it permissible to pray behind an imam who has shaved his beard?!
The Shaykh: Yes, it is permissible to pray, and his sin is on his own side!
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : And He said - the Exalted - :
Or has he not been informed
أَمْ لَمْ يُنَبَّأْOr has he not been informed
أَمْ لَمْ يُنَبَّأْ(36) Or has he not been informed of what was in the scriptures of Moses (37) And [of] Abraham, who fulfilled [his obligations] - (38) That no bearer of burdens will bear the burden of another (39) And that there is not for man except that [good] for which he strives
أَمْ لَمْ يُنَبَّأْ بِمَا فِي صُحُفِ مُوسَى * وَإِبْرَاهِيمَ الَّذِي وَفَّى * أَلَّا تَزِرُ وَازِرَةٌ وِزْرَ أُخْرَى * وَأَنْ لَيْسَ لِلْإِنْسَانِ إِلَّا مَا سَعَىno bearer of burdens will bear the burden of another
لَا تَزِرُ وَازِرَةٌ وِزْرَ أُخْرَىWho is this?
من هذاYou cannot be affected by his sin or he by yours.
أما إنَّك لا تجني عليه ، ولا يجني عليكYou will not bear his burden
لا تجني عليهThe questioner: Absolutely.
The Shaykh: What was al-Hajjaj the tyrant, the destroyer?! He was the governor of Iraq.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh: He used to lead the people in prayer as an imam. Abdullah ibn 'Umar ibn al-Khattab used to pray behind him. What do you think, was this al-Hajjaj righteous or wicked?! It is enough that he was a tyrant!
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh: A tyrant, a destroyer, he killed the great scholars of the Tabi'un, among them Sa'id ibn Jubayr, the student of Abdullah ibn 'Abbas, the interpreter of the Qur'an!!
The questioner: Allah is the Greatest!!
The Shaykh: Yet Ibn 'Umar used to pray behind him, because he was the governor, the ruler.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh: Likewise, if the ruler appoints an imam for you, and he prays with you while being an open sinner, a wicked person, having shaved his beard, wearing trousers, eating riba (usury or interest), dealing in riba (usury or interest), and so on, you have nothing to do with his burden. But if the matter is in your hands, then choose the most knowledgeable among you, the best reciter, the most righteous. If you have no control over it, then our Lord, do not hold us accountable. So what happened in the time of that era?! More than Ibn 'Umar praying behind al-Hajjaj, there was a man among the governors, I swear by Allah I forgot his name!! 'Uqba, I don't know what!
The student : ....
The Shaykh: Yes? The important thing is that he prayed the Fajr prayer one day while intoxicated. He prayed Fajr with them as four rak'ahs, and when he finished the taslim, he said to them: Shall I add more for you?
The questioner: Hehehe.
The Shaykh: Shall I add more for you?
The questioner: In the time of 'Abd al-Malik, my sheikhs, hey?
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner: The Umayyads.
The Shaykh: In the time of the Umayyads, so now they are among them, yes?!
The questioner: 'Uqba ibn Abi Mu'ayt?!
The Shaykh: 'Uqba is the name, but I forgot, by Allah, the son of whom!
The questioner: Al-Walid ibn 'Uqba.
The Shaykh: It could be al-Walid, or al-Walid ibn 'Uqba.
The questioner: Ibn Abi Mu'ayt.
The Shaykh: Without this talk, we have forgotten them now. Al-Walid ibn 'Uqba, Allah knows best. He was a governor and he prayed Fajr with them like this. Therefore, the later generations inherited from the earliest generations in their beliefs: "That it is a belief of the Salaf that one prays behind every righteous and wicked person, and one prays over every righteous and wicked person." One prays behind every righteous and wicked person, and one prays over the dead, whether he was wicked or righteous.
The questioner: And what if he is one who abandons prayer?
The Shaykh: And what if he is one who abandons prayer, this has no relation to your first question, the first hadith.
The questioner: Ah...
The Shaykh: Hehehe, did you forget it?
Source
www.al-albany.com
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.