follow him and therefore pronounced the salutation—as the Muslims did behind the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) when he inadvertently ended the prayer after two units, although they knew that he had prayed only two—or if the imam inadvertently prayed five units and they prayed five behind him, as the Companions did behind the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) when he led them in five units, following him despite knowing that he had prayed five because they believed this permissible, then the follower’s prayer would be valid in such a case. How much more so, then, when the imam alone is mistaken!

They have all agreed that if the imam mistakenly pronounces the salutation, the follower’s prayer is not invalidated provided he does not follow him in doing so. Likewise, if the imam prays five units, the follower’s prayer is not invalidated provided he does not follow him in that. This shows that an error committed by the imam does not necessarily invalidate the follower’s prayer. And Allah knows best.

He—may Allah have mercy on him—was asked:

Is a follower’s prayer valid behind someone whose legal school differs from his own?

He replied:

A man’s prayer behind someone whose legal school differs from his own is valid by the consensus of the Companions, those who followed them in righteousness, and the four imams. There is, however, disagreement concerning two cases:

The first, in which the dissenting view is anomalous, is when the imam performs the obligatory acts as understood by