in general. A specific delegation is for him to say, “So-and-so, lead the people in prayer.” A general delegation is for him to say to the congregation, “If I am late for the usual time of the iqāmah (call to commence the prayer), then pray.”

His statement, “or due to his excuse”: an excuse would be, for example, if we know that the mosque’s imam has fallen ill with an illness that makes him unable to come to the mosque. In that case, we may pray even if he has not granted permission.

Issue: If the people of a mosque put someone forward to lead them in prayer without the imam’s permission and without any excuse for his absence, and he leads them, is their prayer valid or invalid?

The answer is that the scholars hold two views on this:

The first view is that the prayer is valid, though they are sinful.

The second view is that they are sinful and their prayer is invalid; they must repeat it.

The stronger view is the first, because the prohibition of leading the prayer without the imam’s permission or a valid excuse is apparent from the hadith and its underlying rationale. As for the validity of the prayer, the basic presumption is that it is valid unless evidence establishes its invalidity. The prohibition against leading prayer in a mosque with a regular imam without his permission or a valid excuse does not entail that the prayer itself is invalid, because this prohibition relates to something external to the prayer: usurping the imam’s authority and taking precedence over his right. Therefore, the prayer should not be invalidated on that basis.

Whoever has prayed and then a prescribed prayer is commenced should repeat it, except for Maghrib ........

His statement, “Whoever has prayed and then a prescribed prayer is commenced,” means: if he has performed the obligatory prayer and then comes to a mosque in which that same prayer is commenced. The apparent meaning of his words is that this applies whether he prayed originally in congregation or alone.