It is said that once, the imam led us in the Maghrib prayer. After he had prayed the first rak'ah and stood up for the second, he remembered that he was not in a state of wudu', so he broke off the prayer.
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The questioner : It is said that once, the imam led us in the Maghrib prayer. After he had prayed the first rak'ah and stood up for the second, he remembered that he was not in a state of wudu', so he broke off the prayer. Among us, the ma'mum, was an imam from another mosque, who was standing near behind me. He said to him, "Go ahead and pray, so-and-so." The second imam stepped forward without breaking his prayer and completed the entire prayer. Is our prayer valid or not? After he finished the prayer, opinions differed. What is the ruling? May Allah guide you?
The Shaykh : The ruling in this matter is that the prayer of the ma'mum is valid. This is because the imam who remembered that he was in a state of hadath (ritual impurity) did what was obligatory upon him, which is to leave the prayer, because he could not complete the prayer with them while in a state of hadath. These ma'mum are excused when they prayed behind an imam in a state of hadath without knowing it, because a person is not held accountable for what he does not know.
At the beginning of their prayer, they started a prayer that appeared to be in accordance with the Shari'ah, and this is the utmost of what is obligatory upon them. Then, when the invalidity of their imam's prayer became apparent and one of them completed the prayer for them, they built upon a valid prayer, and building upon what is valid is valid.
This opinion that we mentioned is the stronger position (rajih) among the opinions of the scholars of knowledge: that the prayer of the ma'mum is not invalidated by the invalidity of the imam's prayer. Yes, if it were assumed that some of the ma'mum knew that their imam was in a state of hadath, then the prayer of this knowledgeable person would not be valid, because following an imam whom he knows to be in a state of hadath is a form of play, since he followed a person whose prayer he believes to be invalid, and there is no place for play in the religion of Allah the Exalted. Yes.
The Shaykh : The ruling in this matter is that the prayer of the ma'mum is valid. This is because the imam who remembered that he was in a state of hadath (ritual impurity) did what was obligatory upon him, which is to leave the prayer, because he could not complete the prayer with them while in a state of hadath. These ma'mum are excused when they prayed behind an imam in a state of hadath without knowing it, because a person is not held accountable for what he does not know.
At the beginning of their prayer, they started a prayer that appeared to be in accordance with the Shari'ah, and this is the utmost of what is obligatory upon them. Then, when the invalidity of their imam's prayer became apparent and one of them completed the prayer for them, they built upon a valid prayer, and building upon what is valid is valid.
This opinion that we mentioned is the stronger position (rajih) among the opinions of the scholars of knowledge: that the prayer of the ma'mum is not invalidated by the invalidity of the imam's prayer. Yes, if it were assumed that some of the ma'mum knew that their imam was in a state of hadath, then the prayer of this knowledgeable person would not be valid, because following an imam whom he knows to be in a state of hadath is a form of play, since he followed a person whose prayer he believes to be invalid, and there is no place for play in the religion of Allah the Exalted. Yes.