behind him and refrains from praying with the congregation, does he thereby incur sin? The man who dislikes praying behind him believes that he does not recite al-Fātihah correctly, and there are others in the town who are more proficient in Quranic recitation and more knowledgeable in jurisprudence.

He—may Allah have mercy on him—replied:

Praise be to Allah. As for his supposedly being unable to recite al-Fātihah correctly, that is highly unlikely. Most people, both ordinary people and those of learning, recite al-Fātihah adequately for their prayer to be valid. Subtle errors in recitation and errors that do not alter the meaning do not invalidate the prayer. Moreover, al-Fātihah has many variant readings that have been recited.

For example, one might recite “ʿalayhim,” “ʿalayhum,” or “ʿalayhumu” (“upon them”); or “al-sirāta” with sād, “al-sirāta” with sīn, or “al-zirāta” with zāy (“the path”). These are well-known readings.

Likewise, if one recited “al-hamdu lillāhi” or “al-hamdu lullāhi” (“praise be to Allah”), or recited “rabbu al-ʿālamīn” or “rabbi al-ʿālamīn” (“Lord of the worlds”), or used an i-vowel or something similar, these would be readings that have been recited, and prayer behind someone who uses them is valid.

Even if one recited “rabbi al-ʿālamīn” (“Lord of the worlds”) with a u-vowel, or “māliki yawm al-dīn” (“Master of the Day of Judgment”) with an a-vowel, this would be an error that neither alters the meaning nor invalidates the prayer.

If he is the regularly appointed imam, one should pray behind him even if someone in the town is more proficient in Quranic recitation. For the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—said:

“No one should lead a man in prayer within his sphere of authority.”

Even if he openly engages in sin, and no one else there conducts the congregational prayer, one should pray