Conditions of the Imamate
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Question: What are the conditions of the Imamate? Who are those behind whom it is not permissible to pray? And does one who prays behind them have to repeat his prayer or not?
Answer: Among the most important conditions of the Imamate is justice, meaning that he must be just in his religion and not an open sinner.
And among its conditions: He must be proficient in the prescribed recitation in prayer, proficient in reciting Surat al-Fatihah such that he does not make an error in it that changes the meaning.
And among the conditions of the Imamate as well: He must know the jurisprudence of his prayer, what may occur to him, and what he needs to know regarding the rulings of prayer, the rulings of forgetfulness in prayer, and so on. These are among the most important conditions of the Imamate.
Those behind whom it is not permissible to pray are those who do not possess the conditions of the Imamate, such as the imamate of an open sinner and the imamate of an illiterate person who does not recite Surat al-Fatihah well. These people are not permissible to lead prayer except for people like themselves.
As for the answer to the rest of the question, which is the ruling on one who prays behind someone who does not possess the conditions of the Imamate?
So the answer is: If one who is proficient in reciting Surat al-Fatihah prays behind an illiterate person who does not recite Surat al-Fatihah well, he must repeat the prayer. Likewise, if he prays behind an open sinner, according to many scholars, he must also repeat the prayer, unless not praying behind this open sinner would lead to harm and fitnah (trial, discord or temptation). In that case, he prays behind him. However, if there is no harm and not praying behind him does not lead to fitnah, he does not pray behind him.
Answer: Among the most important conditions of the Imamate is justice, meaning that he must be just in his religion and not an open sinner.
And among its conditions: He must be proficient in the prescribed recitation in prayer, proficient in reciting Surat al-Fatihah such that he does not make an error in it that changes the meaning.
And among the conditions of the Imamate as well: He must know the jurisprudence of his prayer, what may occur to him, and what he needs to know regarding the rulings of prayer, the rulings of forgetfulness in prayer, and so on. These are among the most important conditions of the Imamate.
Those behind whom it is not permissible to pray are those who do not possess the conditions of the Imamate, such as the imamate of an open sinner and the imamate of an illiterate person who does not recite Surat al-Fatihah well. These people are not permissible to lead prayer except for people like themselves.
As for the answer to the rest of the question, which is the ruling on one who prays behind someone who does not possess the conditions of the Imamate?
So the answer is: If one who is proficient in reciting Surat al-Fatihah prays behind an illiterate person who does not recite Surat al-Fatihah well, he must repeat the prayer. Likewise, if he prays behind an open sinner, according to many scholars, he must also repeat the prayer, unless not praying behind this open sinner would lead to harm and fitnah (trial, discord or temptation). In that case, he prays behind him. However, if there is no harm and not praying behind him does not lead to fitnah, he does not pray behind him.