If a man steps forward to lead the people in prayer and he is not a reader, what should one do who knows this and is a better reader?

The questioner : All right, the second part of the question: if a man who is not a reader steps forward, and you know yourself that you are a reader, and there are other readers with you, what is the situation? Does he step forward on his own?

The Shaykh : Do you know that he is not qualified?

The questioner: Yes.

The Shaykh : If you are able, if you can advise him, then do so.

The questioner : I mean, am I to create a fitnah (trial, discord or temptation) like that?

The Shaykh : You know the state of the mosque better.
Al-Halabi : ... 'Umar ...
The Shaykh: I don't know, you can gauge the circumstances, I mean.

The questioner : It happened that we could benefit from this situation. A man who shaves his mustache and his beard, and he was not asked to step forward to lead the prayer, so the regular imam was not there, and he stepped forward on his own. Our brothers who follow the beard, and in them is blessing, said to him, "My brother, the imamate has conditions." He did not respond to them, Shaykh ...

The Shaykh : Was this before the prayer?

The questioner : Yes, before the prayer, and he was standing in the place of the imam. I was in the mosque, so when he finished the prayer he said, "Peace be upon you and Allah's mercy, peace be upon you and Allah's mercy." If he had been standing as the imam and said, "Who among you has an objection? Come and speak to me," it would have been just about the letters of qalqalah. But this imam, they said to him, "Shaykh, the letters of qalqalah in our sixth row, we know them." We did not object to you regarding your knowledge of the letters of qalqalah and their ruling. Here, there is someone more deserving than you, at least in appearance. If we look at certainty and suspicion, they were from the group of da'wah (calling others to Islam), coming from the mosque of al-Tabligh; so at least one of them practices the Sunnah more than he does and is a better reader than he is. So here, the point is this imam who stood ...

The Shaykh : This man is arrogant, Professor.

The questioner : But one of the shaykhs refused to pray behind him. So we, in the best manner, tried to make him pray with him, and after the prayer, if Allah wills, something will happen; because we cannot evaluate this, he is not willing to leave. Do we have to pray, I mean, if we leave it, is it a sin to pray behind this man?

The Shaykh : Yes, regardless of the state of the imam; because it is from the inherited creed, passed down from generation to generation: praying behind every righteous person and every sinner, praying behind every righteous person and every sinner, and praying for every righteous person and every sinner. Yes; and the Sunnah supports this; because the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said regarding the imams: Yes.

The questioner : What Allah willed, and may Allah reward you with good.

The Shaykh : And beware of that.

Another questioner : Our master.The Shaykh : A question, if you please. In Turkey, in Istanbul, I prayed in a mosque called the Blue Mosque, next to the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul. So when we prayed, there was only one row behind a Turkish imam who speaks Arabic. And after we finished the prayer, I turned behind me and there were two men with their own platform at the back of the mosque.

The Shaykh : These are mu'adhdhins (the one who calls to prayer).

The questioner : These men prayed behind us, so I mean, I came to ask why these two men prayed alone at the back of the mosque. I asked the imam and said to him, "We are coming from Jordan, and as we know, all rows must be behind the imam, and every row follows the one before it. So why are these two men praying alone?" He said, "These are for the thieves, the thieves."

The Shaykh : ... I seek refuge in Allah.

The questioner : These men watch the thieves, I mean, they monitor the robbers.

The Shaykh : This is not valid.

The questioner : I mean, you are in khushu' (humility) and praying, and we know that looking outside the place of khushu' is stealing from the prayer and from Shaytan (Satan); so is this from the category of darurah (dire necessity)?

The Shaykh : No, there is no necessity. What is this thief going to steal?
Al-Halabi : A lot ... a new shoe ...

The Shaykh : This, look, this story serves as an example regarding mursal masalih (unrestricted public benefits) on one hand, or that every bid'ah (religious innovation) is misguidance, and that it is not permissible to justify by the slightest of causes and stratagems what was not established before. These incidents must be a cause for Muslims to return to humility in the mosques, so that the eyes of the thieves are cut off; I mean, instead of placing a carpet that tempts the thieves to steal it, they should spread a mat, spread a reed mat, and the matter is done. So deviating from the guidance of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) in decorating the mosques, even in the flooring, produced what? These thieves. And the presence of these thieves produced these guards, and they are in prayer, a chain where each one is holding the neck of the other, the cause of which is deviating from the Sunnah.

The questioner : Professor, regarding the known limit for the punishment of theft, it is a quarter of a dinar.

The Shaykh : Yes, exactly.

The questioner : Of course, not a Jordanian dinar, but a gold dinar?

The Shaykh : Gold, yes.