Shaykh al-Islām also said:

Section: On the dependence of a follower’s prayer upon the imam’s prayer

There are three views on this matter. The first is that there is no connection between the two prayers: each person prays for himself, and the benefit of following an imam lies in the increased reward of congregational prayer. This is generally what al-Shāfiʿī’s underlying principle entails. However, an objection has been raised based on his prohibition of someone who can recite following someone who cannot, or a man following a woman, and his ruling that a follower’s prayer is invalid if he follows someone whose prayer has no validity, such as an unbeliever or someone in a state of ritual impurity. These questions require discussion that does not belong here.

Among the evidence supporting this view is the Prophet’s statement, peace and blessings be upon him, concerning imams:

“If they do well, you and they receive the reward; if they do wrong, you receive the reward, while they bear the blame.”

The second view is that the follower’s prayer depends upon the imam’s prayer and is subordinate to it without qualification. Thus, every defect in the imam’s prayer carries over into the follower’s prayer, in accordance with the Prophet’s statement, peace and blessings be upon him:

“The imam is a guarantor.”

According to this view, someone who follows an imam in a state of ritual impurity