The Imamate in Prayer
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Question: The imam of our mosque in the neighborhood commits some errors during the prayer, and these are errors that are attached to him and he cannot get rid of them,And among them is that he does not recite the Qur'an well, meaning: namely that he does not give every letter its due, and he does not pause at the points of pause, but rather pauses where pausing is prohibited, and this increases further in Ramadan during the tarawih prayer. Among the errors is also that he fidgets with the fingers of his hand and moves his feet, and does not keep them steady on the ground,And our question is: Are we right when we boycotted the mosque and no longer pray behind this imam, or is our prayer behind him valid despite these errors? And do not forget to mention that he writes amulets for people with verses from the Qur'an?
Answer: There is no doubt that it is necessary for the imam to possess a suitable quality of knowledge and mindfulness of Allah, and to perfect the prayer, and to be a good example to be followed in goodness; because the imam is a guarantor, as in the hadith, so he takes on a responsibility
that is great, and he takes on the performance of a great obligation, and he carries out a noble task, so he should be at a good level of knowledge and action. Also, he must pay attention to performing the prayer in its proper manner, and he must beware of fidgeting during the prayer, as mentioned, of moving excessively and fidgeting with his hands. This is a matter that is not befitting the one who prays in general, whether he is an imam or a follower. The one who prays is required to have humility in the prayer and tranquility,Allah the Exalted said: [Al-Mu'minun: 1, 2] , and stillness in the prayer and lack of movement is evidence of the humility of the heart, and movement and fidgeting is evidence of a lack of humility in the prayer.
As for what the questioner mentioned regarding his inability to recite well, likewise, the imam should be at a good level in recitation;As he (peace and blessings be upon him) said:Sunan Ibn Majah 980Sahih (Darussalam) , but if what they mentioned is only a minor matter, and that he does not master tajwid in recitation, this does not affect the validity of the prayer. His prayer is valid, and his imamate is valid. And as long as he was appointed by the authorities as the imam of the mosque, he does not resign from that. Rather, his prayer becomes invalid if he makes a mistake that changes the meaning in the recitation of al-Fatihah, or if he leaves out a stress mark or a letter from it, in which case his imamate is not valid, except for one who is like him.
As for the embellishments in recitation and the high level of tajwid in recitation, if this happens, it is a good thing, and if it does not happen, the prayer is valid without it.
And as for your withdrawal from the mosque, I do not see a justification for it unless this imam makes a mistake that changes the meaning, or if this imam is an open sinner who commits one of the major sins.
As long as the matter observed in him is that he does not recite well and does not have complete mastery, this does not require you to withdraw from the mosque because of him.
And as for what you mentioned regarding his writing of amulets, there is a detail regarding amulets.
If these amulets contain words of shirk (associating partners with Allah), and supplication to other than Allah (Mighty and Majestic), and unknown names, then it is not permissible to write them or use them in any way, by the consensus of the scholars; because they are shirk.
But if these amulets are written from the Qur'an and from permissible supplications, and the supplications that have been transmitted, this is a matter of disagreement among the scholars. Some of them permitted them, and some of them prohibited them, and prohibition is safer; because opening the door to their writing and hanging them is a means to the forbidden amulets; and because writing the Qur'an in the form of amulets and charms exposes it to insult, and to entering places where it is not permissible to enter.
In conclusion: That the writing of amulets, if it is with words of shirk, and unknown names, and supplication to other than Allah, and seeking aid from Shayatins (Satan), created beings, and jinn, then these are words of shirk, and the one who writes them and uses them and knows what is in them is one who associates partners with Allah.
But if they are from the Qur'an, the safest course is to avoid them and leave them, and not use them.
Answer: There is no doubt that it is necessary for the imam to possess a suitable quality of knowledge and mindfulness of Allah, and to perfect the prayer, and to be a good example to be followed in goodness; because the imam is a guarantor, as in the hadith, so he takes on a responsibility
that is great, and he takes on the performance of a great obligation, and he carries out a noble task, so he should be at a good level of knowledge and action. Also, he must pay attention to performing the prayer in its proper manner, and he must beware of fidgeting during the prayer, as mentioned, of moving excessively and fidgeting with his hands. This is a matter that is not befitting the one who prays in general, whether he is an imam or a follower. The one who prays is required to have humility in the prayer and tranquility,Allah the Exalted said:
(1) Certainly will the believers have succeeded: (2) They who are during their prayer humbly submissive
قَدْ أَفْلَحَ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ الَّذِينَ هُمْ فِي صَلَاتِهِمْ خَاشِعُونَAs for what the questioner mentioned regarding his inability to recite well, likewise, the imam should be at a good level in recitation;As he (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
The people should be lead by the one who is most well-Versed in recitation of the Book of Allah
يؤم القوم أقرؤهم لكتاب الله عز وجلAs for the embellishments in recitation and the high level of tajwid in recitation, if this happens, it is a good thing, and if it does not happen, the prayer is valid without it.
And as for your withdrawal from the mosque, I do not see a justification for it unless this imam makes a mistake that changes the meaning, or if this imam is an open sinner who commits one of the major sins.
As long as the matter observed in him is that he does not recite well and does not have complete mastery, this does not require you to withdraw from the mosque because of him.
And as for what you mentioned regarding his writing of amulets, there is a detail regarding amulets.
If these amulets contain words of shirk (associating partners with Allah), and supplication to other than Allah (Mighty and Majestic), and unknown names, then it is not permissible to write them or use them in any way, by the consensus of the scholars; because they are shirk.
But if these amulets are written from the Qur'an and from permissible supplications, and the supplications that have been transmitted, this is a matter of disagreement among the scholars. Some of them permitted them, and some of them prohibited them, and prohibition is safer; because opening the door to their writing and hanging them is a means to the forbidden amulets; and because writing the Qur'an in the form of amulets and charms exposes it to insult, and to entering places where it is not permissible to enter.
In conclusion: That the writing of amulets, if it is with words of shirk, and unknown names, and supplication to other than Allah, and seeking aid from Shayatins (Satan), created beings, and jinn, then these are words of shirk, and the one who writes them and uses them and knows what is in them is one who associates partners with Allah.
But if they are from the Qur'an, the safest course is to avoid them and leave them, and not use them.