A slave leading the prayer

Abdullah bin al-Samit said: Sayyiduna Abu Dharr (may Allah be pleased with him) came to al-Rabadhah, and its governor was an Abyssinian slave. When the time of prayer came, Sayyiduna Abu Dharr ordered him to step forward to lead the prayer.

Ibn Sirin said: Sayyiduna Abu Dharr (may Allah be pleased with him) put a slave forward to lead the prayer.

Sayyiduna Abu Dharr (may Allah be pleased with him) prayed behind an Abyssinian slave.

Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) used to pray behind a mudabbar slave of hers (one promised freedom upon her death).

Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) prayed behind a slave of hers.

Abu Sa'id, the freed slave of Abu Usayd, said: I was a slave when I got married, and I invited some of the Companions, among whom were Sayyiduna Abu Dharr, Sayyiduna Ibn Mas'ud and Sayyiduna Hudhayfah (may Allah be pleased with them). When the time of prayer came, Sayyiduna Abu Dharr stepped forward, and he was told: "Stay back." He turned to his companions and said: "Is it so?" They said: "Yes." Then they put me forward, and I led them in prayer although I was a slave.

Dawud bin al-Husayn said: Abu Sufyan was a mukatab slave (one buying his freedom by contract) and he used to lead Banu Abd al-Ashhal in prayer. Among them were some of the Companions, such as Sayyiduna Muhammad bin Maslamah and Sayyiduna Salamah bin Salamah (may Allah be pleased with them). Once the people wanted to remove him from leading the prayer, but when those two heard his recitation, they said: "Should someone like him be removed from leading the prayer?"

Al-Hasan and Ibn Sirin said: There is no harm in a slave leading the prayer.

Al-Hasan bin Ubaydullah said: Ibrahim saw no harm in a slave leading the prayer.

Amir (al-Sha'bi) said: There is no harm in a slave leading the prayer.

Layth narrates that Shahr said: There is no harm in a slave leading the prayer, provided that he is the most knowledgeable of them.

Ziyad, the freed slave of Umm al-Hasan, says: I was a slave, yet Salim bin Abdullah prayed behind me.

Abu Mijlaz declared the imamate of a slave disliked, while al-Hasan saw no harm in it.

Abdullah bin Ubaydullah bin Abi Mulaykah says: My father, Ubayd bin Umayr, Sayyiduna al-Miswar bin Makhramah (may Allah be pleased with him) and many other people used to come to Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her). Abu Amr, a freed slave of Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her), used to lead them in prayer. Abu Amr was still a slave at that time and had not yet been freed.

Al-Hakam says: A slave led us in prayer in this mosque of ours for forty years, and Shurayh also used to pray in this mosque.

Amr bin Maysarah says: Sayyiduna al-Hasan bin Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) prayed behind a slave in one of his walled gardens, along with some people of his household.

Al-Dahhak says: If there is a free man among those praying, a slave should not lead the prayer; and if there is someone among them who has performed Hajj, one who has not performed Hajj should not lead them in prayer.

Abu Sufyan says: I went with Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Ja'far, Sayyiduna Husayn bin Ali (may Allah be pleased with them) and Ibn Abi Ahmad towards Yanbu'. When the time of prayer came, they put me forward and I led them in prayer.