If two men are present, one of whom is a memorizer of the Book of Allah and the other is among the people of virtue and knowledge, who is to be given precedence for leading the prayer?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : If two men are present, one of whom is a memorizer of the Book of Allah and the other is among the people of virtue and knowledge...?
The Shaykh : We have passed over this previously, have we not? The one who leads the people is the one who is most proficient in reciting the Book of Allah. We said: If one looks at the apparent wording, we said the most proficient reciter is given precedence, even if the other is more knowledgeable than him. But if one looks at the condition of the Companions, and that they did not move on from ten verses until they learned them and the knowledge and practice contained therein, we said the most proficient reciter there is the most knowledgeable. Yes.
The Shaykh : We have passed over this previously, have we not? The one who leads the people is the one who is most proficient in reciting the Book of Allah. We said: If one looks at the apparent wording, we said the most proficient reciter is given precedence, even if the other is more knowledgeable than him. But if one looks at the condition of the Companions, and that they did not move on from ten verses until they learned them and the knowledge and practice contained therein, we said the most proficient reciter there is the most knowledgeable. Yes.