that differ in sound, point of articulation, and auditory impression, as when rā’ is replaced with ghayn, for such a substitution does not fulfil the purpose of recitation.

He—may Allah have mercy on him—was asked about praying behind al-Marāziqah and about their religious innovation.

He replied:

A person may perform the five daily prayers, Friday prayer, and other prayers behind someone whom he does not know to be guilty of religious innovation or sinfulness. This is agreed upon by the four imams and other leading Muslim scholars.

It is not a condition of following an imam in prayer that one know his beliefs or examine him by asking, “What do you believe?” Rather, one may pray behind someone whose religious standing is unknown to him. If someone prays behind a man whom he knows to be sinful or an innovator, there are two well-known views concerning the validity of his prayer within the schools of Ahmad and Mālik. The position of al-Shāfiʿī and Abū Hanīfah is that it is valid.

As for someone who says, “I entrust my wealth only to someone I know,” meaning, “I will not pray behind someone I do not know, just as I entrust my wealth only to someone I know,” these are the words of an ignorant person; none of the imams of Islam has said this. For if someone deposits his wealth with a man he does not know, that man may betray him