Is the Prayer of a Non-Muqallid Valid Behind a Muqallid Imām?
Source: Aḥkām wa Masāʾil – Bāb al-Ṣalāh, Vol. 1, p. 158
Question:
Can a non-muqallid (one who does not follow a particular madhhab) pray behind an imām who declares following one of the four imāms (aḥnāf, shāfiʿīs, mālikīs, ḥanbalīs) to be obligatory?
Answer:
Al-ḥamdu lillāh, waṣ-ṣalātu wa-s-salāmu ʿalā Rasūlillāh, ammā baʿd!
According to my understanding, taqlīd means following such a statement or opinion which goes against the Qurʾān and Sunnah. If someone considers taqlīd to be obligatory, then his own prayer is not valid, because in reality such a person denies the authority of the Qurʾān and Sunnah.
Therefore, the question of praying behind such a person does not even arise—since his own prayer is invalid.
Hādhā mā ʿindī, wallāhu aʿlam bi-ṣ-ṣawāb.
