As for the opponent’s reliance on the statement:

“It is permissible to pray behind anyone, whether righteous or wicked,”

he is mistaken for several reasons.

First: This hadith has not been established as a report from the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace). Rather, Sunan Ibn Mājah reports from him:

“No wicked man should lead a believer in prayer unless he compels him with a whip or a stick.”

The chain of transmission of this other report is also subject to criticism.

Second: A worshipper may pray behind someone who has been appointed, even though appointing that person was impermissible. People may not appoint openly sinful men over themselves, even though such a person’s judgments may be legally effective or prayer behind him may be valid.

Third: The imams agree that praying behind an openly sinful person is disliked, but they differ over its validity. Some hold that it is invalid, as reported from Mālik and Ahmad in one of the two reports from each of them. Others hold that it is valid, as is the position of Abū Hanīfah and al-Shāfiʿī, and the other report from Mālik and Ahmad. They did not dispute that such a person should not be appointed.

Fourth: There is no disagreement among Muslims that these openly sinful people who become intoxicated by hashish must be rebuked. Indeed, the majority of imams hold that both small and large amounts of it are forbidden. Moreover, the correct view is that whoever consumes it is subject to the prescribed punishment and that it is ritually impure. Thus, if someone who consumes it does not rinse it from his mouth, his prayer is invalid. Even if he rinses his mouth