The ruling on praying behind a Sufi

Q: If you are in a village and its imam is from the Sufis, and he does not fold his hands in prayer, nor does he place his knees before his hands when going into prostration, is my prayer with him permissible?

A: If he is known for the oneness of Allah (tawhid) and is not one who associates partners with Allah (shirk), but rather he has some ignorance or Sufism, yet he is a monotheist Muslim who worships Allah alone and does not worship the shaykhs or any other of the created things, such as Shaykh Abdul Qadir or others, then merely the fact that he does not fold his hands in prayer does not prevent praying behind him; because this is a recommended practice (sunnah), and it is not obligatory. It is placing his right palm over his left palm, wrist, and forearm on his chest while standing in prayer. So if he lets them hang down, there is no blame on him and his prayer is valid. Some scholars have recommended this, but the correct view is that the prescribed (mashru') action is folding them, due to the establishment of the hadiths from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) regarding this.
And these hadiths cover the state of the praying person before bowing and after it. Likewise, there is disagreement regarding the praying person placing his knees before his hands, or his hands before his knees, due to the difference in the hadiths reported on this, from the hadith of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) , and Ibn 'Amr, and Wa'il ibn Hujr, and Malik (may Allah be pleased with them all) issued a ruling on this.
The stronger position in this is that the best is to place the knees first when going into prostration, then the hands, then the face, and by this the hadiths are reconciled, and it agrees with the explicit hadith of Wa'il ibn Hujr and what came in its meaning; because the prohibition of the camel's prostration mentioned in the hadith of Abu Hurayrah agrees with what the hadith of Wa'il indicates regarding placing the knees before the hands; because when a camel is unloaded, it places its hands before its legs. As for his statement at the end of the hadith of Abu Hurayrah: The matter in this is broad, and the disagreement on it is well-known among the scholars.
And it is not befitting to be strict in this; because the disagreement is only regarding what is better, and the prayer is valid according to both opinions, and there is no blame in praying behind one who does this or that. And Allah is the guarantor of success.