The Imam of a Mosque Loved by His People, but Who Exceeds the Bounds in His Relationship with His Lord and Fears Showing Off and Hypocrisy: Should He Continue as Imam?
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The questioner : Now, this young man, O esteemed Shaykh, is the imam of one of the mosques. As he says, he is loved by the congregation of the mosque and is respected by them. He knows in himself, or deep in his heart, that he is falling short, that he has some sins, and that he does not deserve the imamate, nor does he deserve this love and respect from the people. He fears for himself if he remains in the mosque as imam; he fears for himself from hypocrisy and showing off. So, should he remain in the mosque, meaning, should he continue leading the people in prayer, or should he withdraw from the mosque out of fear of showing off and hypocrisy?
The Shaykh : I say: This young man whom you described as an imam loved by his people, but who exceeds the bounds in his relationship with his Lord—I say: What Allah has bestowed upon him of imamate and the love of his people for him necessitates that he remove the excess from himself, that he improve his worship, and that he thank Allah (Mighty and Majestic). For the fact that a person is loved by his people as their imam is a great blessing from Allah.[Al-Furqan 25:63] until He said: [Al-Furqan 25:74] And the worshippers are among the righteous, and their imam is included in His saying: [Al-Furqan 25:74] So let him praise Allah for this blessing, let him remove the excess from himself, and let him make this one of the means that help him to obey Allah. And he should remain in his position.
And his saying, "I fear showing off," is a whisper that Satan casts into the heart of a person whenever he wants to perform an act of obedience. Whenever he wants to perform an act of obedience, Satan enters upon him and says, "You are a hypocrite." So he must cast this aside and turn away from it, and seek help from Allah (Mighty and Majestic).[Al-Fatihah 1:5]
The Shaykh : I say: This young man whom you described as an imam loved by his people, but who exceeds the bounds in his relationship with his Lord—I say: What Allah has bestowed upon him of imamate and the love of his people for him necessitates that he remove the excess from himself, that he improve his worship, and that he thank Allah (Mighty and Majestic). For the fact that a person is loved by his people as their imam is a great blessing from Allah.
And the servants of the Most Merciful are those who walk upon the earth easily
وَعِبَادُ الرَّحْمَنِ الَّذِينَ يَمْشُونَ عَلَى الْأَرْضِ هونًاand make us an example for the righteous."
وَاجْعَلْنَا لِلْمُتَّقِينَ إِمَاماًand make us an example for the righteous."
وَاجْعَلْنَا لِلْمُتَّقِينَ إِمَاماًAnd his saying, "I fear showing off," is a whisper that Satan casts into the heart of a person whenever he wants to perform an act of obedience. Whenever he wants to perform an act of obedience, Satan enters upon him and says, "You are a hypocrite." So he must cast this aside and turn away from it, and seek help from Allah (Mighty and Majestic).