The Second Part: The Imamate of the Unmarried?
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The questioner : The second part: What is the ruling on the prayer or the imamate of the unmarried?
The Shaykh : The imamate of the unmarried is permissible.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : It is permissible for a man to lead the prayer while he is unmarried, and the one praying behind him may be married. In fact, the stronger position is that it is permissible for the imam to be a minor who has not reached puberty, leading adults in prayer.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : This applies to both obligatory and voluntary prayers, because it is established in Sahih al-Bukhari that 'Amr ibn Salama al-Jurani (may Allah be pleased with him) led his people in prayer when he was six or seven years old, during the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him).
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Furthermore, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:Sunan Ibn Majah 980Sahih (Darussalam) This is a general statement, and there is no evidence for the condition of reaching puberty for the imamate of the obligatory prayer. The correct view is that it is permissible for a minor to lead adults in prayer.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner : May Allah reward you.
Ladies and gentlemen, we have reached the end of this session, in which we hosted His Eminence Shaykh Muhammad ibn Salih al-Uthaymeen, professor at Imam Muhammad ibn Saud University.
The Shaykh : The imamate of the unmarried is permissible.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : It is permissible for a man to lead the prayer while he is unmarried, and the one praying behind him may be married. In fact, the stronger position is that it is permissible for the imam to be a minor who has not reached puberty, leading adults in prayer.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : This applies to both obligatory and voluntary prayers, because it is established in Sahih al-Bukhari that 'Amr ibn Salama al-Jurani (may Allah be pleased with him) led his people in prayer when he was six or seven years old, during the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him).
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Furthermore, the Prophet (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 اللهThe questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner : May Allah reward you.
Ladies and gentlemen, we have reached the end of this session, in which we hosted His Eminence Shaykh Muhammad ibn Salih al-Uthaymeen, professor at Imam Muhammad ibn Saud University.