The ruling on praying behind an elderly man whose clothes may be ritually impure.
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner: Peace be upon you.
The Shaykh : And upon you be peace and the mercy of Allah.
The questioner : How are you, our Shaykh?
The Shaykh : Praise be to Allah, I am well
The questioner : May you be well.
The Shaykh : May Allah make you well.
The questioner : We are going to outdo you; may Allah prolong your life.
The Shaykh : Please.
The questioner : The first question: Is it permissible to pray behind a person, for example, an elderly man who is eighty, eighty-five, or eighty-eight years old, whose clothes may not be ritually pure, or whose clothes are found to be impure at times because he does not pay attention or does not see it? Is it permissible to pray behind him? I mean, is the prayer behind him valid?
The Shaykh : I understood.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : But you need to consider whether he is excused or not excused.
The questioner : Excused, yes.
The Shaykh : Yes, the prayer is valid.
The questioner : Yes, he does not pay attention, or I do not know what to do about it, and I do not know if his clothes are not pure.
The Shaykh : I want to save you the trouble.
The questioner : Yes, please go ahead.
The Shaykh : In one word: if he is excused, the prayer is valid.
The questioner : If he is not excused.
The Shaykh : If he is not excused, the prayer is not valid.
The questioner: Okay
The Shaykh : But I cannot say from my side that he is excused or that he is not excused; that is up to you, it is your judgment.
The questioner : It is up to you... he is not always excused.
The Shaykh : I cannot say whether this person is excused or not excused.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : But I say that if he is excused, the prayer behind him is valid; otherwise, it is not.
The questioner : Okay, the second question.
The Shaykh : Yes.
The Shaykh : And upon you be peace and the mercy of Allah.
The questioner : How are you, our Shaykh?
The Shaykh : Praise be to Allah, I am well
The questioner : May you be well.
The Shaykh : May Allah make you well.
The questioner : We are going to outdo you; may Allah prolong your life.
The Shaykh : Please.
The questioner : The first question: Is it permissible to pray behind a person, for example, an elderly man who is eighty, eighty-five, or eighty-eight years old, whose clothes may not be ritually pure, or whose clothes are found to be impure at times because he does not pay attention or does not see it? Is it permissible to pray behind him? I mean, is the prayer behind him valid?
The Shaykh : I understood.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : But you need to consider whether he is excused or not excused.
The questioner : Excused, yes.
The Shaykh : Yes, the prayer is valid.
The questioner : Yes, he does not pay attention, or I do not know what to do about it, and I do not know if his clothes are not pure.
The Shaykh : I want to save you the trouble.
The questioner : Yes, please go ahead.
The Shaykh : In one word: if he is excused, the prayer is valid.
The questioner : If he is not excused.
The Shaykh : If he is not excused, the prayer is not valid.
The questioner: Okay
The Shaykh : But I cannot say from my side that he is excused or that he is not excused; that is up to you, it is your judgment.
The questioner : It is up to you... he is not always excused.
The Shaykh : I cannot say whether this person is excused or not excused.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : But I say that if he is excused, the prayer behind him is valid; otherwise, it is not.
The questioner : Okay, the second question.
The Shaykh : Yes.
Source
www.al-albany.com
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.