Is it a condition that the imam of the Friday prayer be just or sinless?

Q: What is the ruling on a group of people who do not perform the Friday prayer on the grounds that it is not valid except behind a just imam?

A: Allah the Exalted has made it obligatory for Muslims to perform the Friday prayer if they are settled residents, whether in large cities or villages. The scholars differed regarding the number required to establish the Friday prayer, with many opinions, the strongest of which is: that it is established with three or more, as there is no evidence for requiring more than that. They agreed that it is not a condition of it that the imam be just or sinless; rather, it must be performed with the righteous and the sinner alike, as long as he is a Muslim whose open sinfulness has not taken him out of the circle of Islam.
By this, it is known that the group that does not establish the Friday prayer except on the condition that the imam be just or sinless has introduced a religious innovation for which Allah has not given permission, and has imposed a condition that has no basis in the pure Shari'ah. Some of the scholars held that the Friday prayer is not established in small villages but only in major gathering cities, but this opinion is weak and has no basis in the pure Shari'ah. It is narrated from the Commander of the Faithful, 'Ali ibn Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him) , but it did not become authentic from him. The Friday prayer was established in the Holy City of Madinah after the first Muslims migrated to it, and it is not a major gathering city but is considered one of the villages. Then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) established it when he arrived in Madinah and continued to establish it until he passed away (peace and blessings be upon him). The Friday prayer was also established in Bahrain in a village called Jawatha during his time (peace and blessings be upon him), and he did not disapprove of that (peace and blessings be upon him).

In summary: The obligatory thing is to establish the Friday prayer in villages and major cities, in accordance with the evidence from the Book and the Sunnah, and to attain the great benefits in its establishment, among which are gathering people for good, preaching to them, reminding them, teaching them what benefits them, their getting to know one another, and their cooperating in righteousness and piety, among other great benefits.