Is it permissible to pray behind an imam who calls upon the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) for aid and says that 'Isa was not raised with his body and that he reads from the Preserved Tablet in a dream?

The questioner : Is it permissible to pray

The Shaykh : How?

The questioner : Is it permissible to pray behind an imam who calls upon the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) as a means?

The Shaykh : (Peace and blessings be upon him).

The questioner : (peace and blessings be upon him), and is it permissible for him to allow himself to lean toward the ruling that says 'Isa (peace be upon him) was not raised bodily to the sky, but was raised a certain amount? And likewise, he allows himself to say that he reads from the Preserved Tablet in a dream vision. Is it permissible to pray behind him?

The Shaykh : It is permissible to pray behind him as long as we rule that he is a Muslim. If we take him out of the circle of Islam, then it is not permissible to pray behind him. So, within the limits of your knowledge of the Shari'ah first, and your knowledge of the person second, is he still in the circle of Islam? Or has he apostatized from the circle of Islam?

The questioner : He was still in the circle of Islam until he consulted his own soul and returned, saying to me: "Do not tell your shaykhs what I said to you." Just as you speak, he submitted in his statement anew. He was initially in a firm position, then he returned and said, "Do not tell your shaykhs what happened, so that they do not declare me a disbeliever or misunderstand me. I see a vision in a dream, something happened to me..."

The Shaykh : No problem, this is part of what you mentioned. You said...

The questioner : I am telling a dream vision. He leans toward the view that 'Isa (peace be upon him) was not raised bodily to the sky, but was raised a certain amount .

The Shaykh : The important thing, my brother, is to take the rule and rest. Every person is originally a Muslim. Then he commits a violation of the Shari'ah. If this violation takes him out of the circle of Islam and Muslims, then prayer behind him is not valid. But we must know that not every Muslim who falls into disbelief has disbelief fall upon him. Do you understand? Not everyone who falls into disbelief has disbelief fall upon him and envelop him such that he exits the circle of Islam. This is the rule. Applying this rule is not something the general people can do for any person. Rather, this requires scholars who know the Book and the Sunnah, and who have some deliberation, calmness, and patience, so that they do not have excess or negligence. They do not say that all Muslims are as they say, "on the best of conditions," nor that whoever said such-and-such has committed disbelief and apostatized from the religion without knowing his circumstances. Is he excused? Is he ignorant? Is he knowledgeable? And so on. Therefore, I say to the general Muslims, like you, regarding this you are asking about: within the limits of your knowledge, is he a Muslim or a disbeliever? No, by Allah, he is a Muslim. Then prayer is permissible. No, by Allah, this is not a Muslim in my view. I tell you, in that case, as a precaution, do not pray behind him. But it means from another angle that you must be cautious, and you should not rush to declare him a disbeliever, because you may be wrong in declaring him a disbeliever since you are not from the people of knowledge. Do you understand?

The questioner: Yes.

The Shaykh : So, if it is predominant in your mind that this is disbelief, do not pray behind him, and pray behind an imam in whose Islam and faith you have no doubt. But do not be certain of his disbelief as long as you are not from the people of knowledge.