should be the one who is most proficient in reciting the Book of Allah. If they are equal in recitation, then the one who is best versed in the Sunnah; if they are equal in the Sunnah, then the one who emigrated earliest; and if they are equal in emigration, then the one who accepted Islam earliest.” In another version: “…then the eldest of them.”

This ḥadīth shows that the person of knowledge takes precedence over others: first comes the one most learned in the Book of Allah, then the one most knowledgeable of the Sunnah of Allah’s Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). No one should be put forward in matters of religion except the best and most virtuous among them.

Thus the rule is to give priority, in leading the prayer, to the most qualified and then to the next most qualified. This, however, applies only when there is no appointed resident imam. As for the resident imam, he remains the leader even if someone in the congregation recites better than he does, because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “No man is to lead another in prayer in the latter’s domain.” The resident imam is the authority in his mosque. Some scholars have even said that if a person steps forward and leads the regular congregation without the imam’s permission, their prayer is invalid and must be repeated, for the Prophet’s prohibition regarding leading in another’s domain entails invalidity. Allah is the One who grants success.

3/350 — ʿAbd Allah ibn Masʿūd (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Let those who possess intelligence and sound judgment stand directly behind me, then those who follow them,” three times, “and beware of the tumult of the marketplaces.” Related by Muslim.