Is it obligatory to follow the imam if he is knowledgeable of the Sunnah, even if he does not practice it?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : Regarding following the imam
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner : I heard that you said one should follow him if he is among the hadith scholars. Is that correct?
The Shaykh : That is, if he is among the hadith scholars, or if he is among those who follow the mujtahid imams from among the imams.
The questioner : Yes, that is right, there is no disagreement on this point.
The Shaykh: No.
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner : I heard that you said one should follow him if he is among the hadith scholars. Is that correct?
The Shaykh : That is, if he is among the hadith scholars, or if he is among those who follow the mujtahid imams from among the imams.
The questioner : Yes, that is right, there is no disagreement on this point.
The Shaykh: No.
Source
www.al-albany.com
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.