—the answer is as follows: If a person who is able to recite Sūrat al-Fātiḥah properly prays behind an illiterate imam who cannot recite it correctly, he must repeat his prayer. The same ruling applies, according to many scholars, to one who has prayed behind a flagrantly sinful imam: he must repeat the prayer—unless avoiding that imam would lead to harm and communal discord. In such a case he should pray behind him; but if no such harm or discord would result, he should not pray behind him.

Imamate in Prayer

Question: The imam of the mosque in our neighbourhood commits certain errors during the prayer—mistakes that cling to him and from which he never frees himself. Among them is that he does not recite the Quran well: he fails to give each letter its due, he does not pause where pausing is required, and he pauses where it is forbidden to do so. This becomes even more pronounced in Ramadan during the Tarawīḥ prayers. In addition, he fidgets with his fingers, moves his feet, and does not keep them firmly on the ground. Our question is: Were we justified in abandoning the mosque and no longer praying behind this imam, or is our prayer behind him valid despite these mistakes? We should also mention that he writes amulets for people using Quranic verses.

Answer: There is no doubt that an imam ought to possess an appropriate level of knowledge and piety, to be proficient in performing the prayer, and to serve as a good example whom others follow in righteousness, for—as stated in the ḥadīth—“the imam is a guarantor.” He therefore shoulders a weighty responsibility