The ruling on the imamah of one who does not perform the prayer properly
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Q361: The questioner says: The imam of the mosque in our neighborhood commits some errors during the prayer, and these are errors that follow him. He does not recite the Qur'an well, meaning that he does not give every letter its right, and he does not stop at the proper places for pausing, and perhaps he stops where pausing is prohibited. This increases more in Ramadan during the tarawih prayer. Among the errors is that he fidgets with the fingers of his hand, and moves his feet, and does not keep them steady on the ground. Our question is: Are we right when we boycotted the mosque and no longer pray behind this imam? What is the ruling on our prayer behind him, and is it valid despite these errors? Also, this imam writes amulets for people.
A361: It is without doubt that it is befitting that the imam be of a suitable character in terms of knowledge, and mindfulness of Allah, and perfection in the prayer, and that he be a good example to be followed in goodness; for the imam is a guarantor, as in the hadith:Sunan Abi Dawud 517Sahih (Al-Albani) He thus assumes a great responsibility,
and he assumes the performance of a great obligation, and he carries out a noble task. He should be at a good level of knowledge and practice. He should also pay attention to the prayer in its proper manner, and he should beware of fidgeting during the prayer, as mentioned, and that he moves a lot and fidgets with his hand during the prayer. This is a matter that is not befitting the one who prays in general, whether he is an imam or a ma'mum. The one who prays is required to have khushu' (humility) and tranquility in the prayer. Allah the Exalted said:[Al-Mu'minun 23:1-2] Stillness in the prayer and lack of movement is evidence of the humility of the heart, and movement and fidgeting are evidence of a lack of humility in the prayer. As for what the questioner mentioned regarding his inability to recite well, the imam should be chosen at a good level of recitation; due to the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): Sunan Ibn Majah 980Sahih (Darussalam) If what they mentioned is only a minor matter, that he does not master tajwid and recitation, then this does not affect the prayer. His prayer is valid, and his imamah is valid. As long as he was appointed by the authorities as the imam of the mosque, he is not removed from his position by that, rather
his prayer becomes invalid if he makes a mistake that changes the meaning in the recitation of al-Fatihah, or if he omits a letter or a word from it. In that case, his imamah is not valid except for one who is like him. As for the perfection of recitation, if it occurs, it is a good thing, and if it does not occur, the prayer is valid without it. As for your boycotting the mosque, I do not see a justification for it, unless this imam makes a mistake that changes the meaning, or if this imam is an open sinner, committing one of the major sins. As long as the matter you observe is that he does not master recitation at a high level, this does not require you to isolate yourselves from the mosque. As for what you mentioned about his writing amulets, there is a detail regarding amulets: If these amulets contain phrases from the Shari'ah, and supplication to other than Allah (Mighty and Majestic), and unknown names, then it is not permissible to write them or use them, by the consensus of the scholars, because it is shirk (associating partners with Allah). However, if these amulets are written from the Qur'an, and from permissible supplications, or from transmitted supplications, then there is a disagreement among the scholars: some permitted them, and some prohibited them. Prohibition is better and more cautious; because opening the door to their writing and use is a means to the use of forbidden amulets, and because writing the Qur'an in the form of amulets and exposing it subjects it to insult and entering places where it is not permissible to enter. So the result is:
that writing amulets, if it is with phrases from the Shari'ah, and unknown names, and supplication to other than Allah, and seeking aid from Shayatins, and created beings and jinn, then these are phrases of shirk, and the one who writes them and the one who uses them and knows what is in them, becomes a mushrik (one who associates partners with Allah). However, if they are from the Qur'an, the most cautious thing is to avoid them and leave them, and not use them.
A361: It is without doubt that it is befitting that the imam be of a suitable character in terms of knowledge, and mindfulness of Allah, and perfection in the prayer, and that he be a good example to be followed in goodness; for the imam is a guarantor, as in the hadith:
The imam is responsible and the mu'adhdhin is trusted
الإمام ضامن والمؤذن مؤتمنand he assumes the performance of a great obligation, and he carries out a noble task. He should be at a good level of knowledge and practice. He should also pay attention to the prayer in its proper manner, and he should beware of fidgeting during the prayer, as mentioned, and that he moves a lot and fidgets with his hand during the prayer. This is a matter that is not befitting the one who prays in general, whether he is an imam or a ma'mum. The one who prays is required to have khushu' (humility) and tranquility in the prayer. Allah the Exalted said:
(1) Certainly will the believers have succeeded: (2) They who are during their prayer humbly submissive
قَدْ أَفْلَحَ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ (1) الَّذِينَ هُمْ فِي صَلاَتِهِمْ خَاشِعُونَThe people should be lead by the one who is most well-Versed in recitation of the Book of Allah
يؤم القوم أقرؤهم لكتاب اللهhis prayer becomes invalid if he makes a mistake that changes the meaning in the recitation of al-Fatihah, or if he omits a letter or a word from it. In that case, his imamah is not valid except for one who is like him. As for the perfection of recitation, if it occurs, it is a good thing, and if it does not occur, the prayer is valid without it. As for your boycotting the mosque, I do not see a justification for it, unless this imam makes a mistake that changes the meaning, or if this imam is an open sinner, committing one of the major sins. As long as the matter you observe is that he does not master recitation at a high level, this does not require you to isolate yourselves from the mosque. As for what you mentioned about his writing amulets, there is a detail regarding amulets: If these amulets contain phrases from the Shari'ah, and supplication to other than Allah (Mighty and Majestic), and unknown names, then it is not permissible to write them or use them, by the consensus of the scholars, because it is shirk (associating partners with Allah). However, if these amulets are written from the Qur'an, and from permissible supplications, or from transmitted supplications, then there is a disagreement among the scholars: some permitted them, and some prohibited them. Prohibition is better and more cautious; because opening the door to their writing and use is a means to the use of forbidden amulets, and because writing the Qur'an in the form of amulets and exposing it subjects it to insult and entering places where it is not permissible to enter. So the result is:
that writing amulets, if it is with phrases from the Shari'ah, and unknown names, and supplication to other than Allah, and seeking aid from Shayatins, and created beings and jinn, then these are phrases of shirk, and the one who writes them and the one who uses them and knows what is in them, becomes a mushrik (one who associates partners with Allah). However, if they are from the Qur'an, the most cautious thing is to avoid them and leave them, and not use them.
Source
www.alifta.gov.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.