Who Deserves Imamate? Rights and Duties of the Imam

Source Information

This excerpt is taken from the book Ṣaḥīḥ Ṣalāh al-Nabawī ﷺ, authored by al-Shaykh ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ʿAzīz, published by Maktabah Dār al-Andalus.

Who Has the Right to Lead the Prayer (Imāmah)?​

❀ The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:

يؤم القوم أقرؤهم لكتاب الله، فإن كانوا فى القراءة سواء فأعلمهم بالسنة، فإن كانوا فى السنة سواء فأقدمهم هجرة، فإن كانوا فى الهجرة سواء فأقدمهم سنا

“The one who knows the Qur’an the most should lead the people in prayer. If they are equal in recitation, then the one who has more knowledge of the Sunnah. If they are equal in knowledge of the Sunnah, then the one who migrated earlier. If they are equal in migration, then the one who is older.”

The narrator mentioned age instead of accepting Islam first.

Reference: Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, Kitab al-Masājid, Bab man Aḥaqqu bi al-Imāmah: 673

❀ Some people claim that a handsome person should be appointed as imam. All such narrations are fabricated and baseless.

Reference: Mawḍūʿ wa Munkar Riwayāt: 47, 48

Imāmah of a Minor​

If the above conditions are fulfilled in a discerning minor, he has the right to lead the prayer.

❀ Sayyidunā ʿAmr bin Salamah رضي الله عنه said:

“My father was the first among his people to accept Islam. When he returned after meeting the Prophet ﷺ, he said: ‘By Allah! I have come to you from the true Prophet ﷺ. He taught us how to pray such and such prayer at such and such time.’ The Prophet ﷺ said: ‘When the time for prayer comes, one of you should give the adhān, and the one who knows the Qur’an the most should lead the prayer.’ They looked to see who knew the Qur’an the most, and they did not find anyone who knew more than me, because I used to memorize it from travelers. So they appointed me as imam, while I was only six or seven years old.”

Reference: Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, Kitab al-Maghāzī: 4302

Imāmah of a Disabled Person​

❀ A disabled person (blind, one-eyed, lame, etc.) may lead the prayer if he fulfills the conditions of imāmah.

Sayyidunā Anas bin Mālik رضي الله عنه said:

“The Prophet ﷺ would appoint ʿAbdullāh bin Umm Maktūm رضي الله عنه as his deputy during journeys, and he would lead the people in prayer, even though he was blind.”

Reference: Abu Dāwūd, Kitab al-Ṣalāh, Bab Imāmat al-Aʿmā: 595

(Ṣaḥīḥ)

Imāmah of a Slave​

❀ A slave may be appointed as imam.

Sayyidunā Ibn ʿUmar رضي الله عنهما said:

“When the Muhājirīn gathered in Qubā’ before the arrival of the Prophet ﷺ, Sālim, the freed slave of Abū Ḥudhayfah رضي الله عنه, used to lead them in prayer.”

Reference: Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, Kitab al-Adhān, Bab Imāmat al-ʿAbd wa al-Mawlā: 692

---

❀ Imām al-Bukhārī رحمه الله narrates that the slave of Sayyidah ʿĀ’ishah رضي الله عنها, Dhakwān, used to lead her in prayer while reciting from the muṣḥaf.

Reference: Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, Kitab al-Adhān, Bab Imāmat al-ʿAbd wa al-Mawlā, before ḥadīth: 692

A Senior Scholar Praying Behind a Junior Scholar​

❀ A senior scholar may pray behind a junior scholar.

Sayyidunā al-Mughīrah bin Shuʿbah رضي الله عنه said:

“Once the Messenger of Allah ﷺ went out before Fajr to relieve himself, and I accompanied him with water. When he returned, the people had already begun praying under the imāmah of ʿAbd al-Raḥmān bin ʿAwf رضي الله عنه. The Prophet ﷺ joined the prayer and caught one rakʿah. When ʿAbd al-Raḥmān bin ʿAwf gave salām, the Prophet ﷺ stood and completed his remaining rakʿah.”

Reference: Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, Kitab al-Ṣalāh, Bab Taqdīm al-Jamāʿah idhā Ta’akhkhara al-Imām: 421

Leading Prayer in Place of an Appointed Imam​

❀ It is not permissible to lead the prayer in the presence of an appointed imam without his permission.

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:

لا يؤم الرجل الرجل فى سلطانه إلا بإذنه

“No one should lead another in his domain without his permission.”

Reference: Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, Kitab al-Masājid, Bab man Aḥaqqu bi al-Imāmah: 673

An Imam Whom People Dislike​

❀ If people dislike an imam due to a valid religious or moral reason, he should not lead them.

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:

ثلاثة لا ترتفع صلاتهم فوق رؤوسهم شبرا: رجل أم قوما وهم له كارهون

“Three people’s prayers do not rise even a handspan above their heads: one of them is a man who leads people in prayer while they dislike him.”

Reference: Ibn Mājah, Kitab Iqāmat al-Ṣalāh: 971

Reference: al-Tirmidhī: 360

(Ṣaḥīḥ)

Imāmah of an Innovator or Polytheist​

❀ Following a polytheist imam is not permissible, because none of his deeds are accepted.

Allah Almighty says:

وَلَوْ أَشْرَكُوا لَحَبِطَ عَنْهُمْ مَا كَانُوا يَعْمَلُونَ

“And if they had committed shirk, all that they used to do would have been nullified.”

Reference: al-Anʿām: 88

Similarly, it is not permissible to pray behind an innovator whose innovation leads to disbelief or shirk.

❀ It is permissible to pray behind a sinful or immoral person.

ʿUbaydullāh bin ʿAdī bin Khiyār said that during the siege of ʿUthmān رضي الله عنه, he said to him: “You are our imam, but the people who are leading us in prayer are from among the rebels, and we dislike it.” ʿUthmān رضي الله عنه replied:

“Prayer is the best of people’s deeds. When people do good, do good with them; and when they do evil, do not participate in their evil.”

Reference: Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, Kitab al-Adhān, Bab Imāmat al-Maftūn wa al-Mubtadiʿ: 695

❀ Therefore, it is not permissible to abandon praying behind an imam due to minor personal issues.

The Imam’s Mistake Does Not Affect the Followers​

If the imam’s prayer is invalid or deficient for some reason, the followers’ prayer remains valid.

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:

يصلون لكم فإن أصابوا فلكم ولهم، وإن أخطئوا فلكم وعليهم

“They lead you in prayer. If they do it correctly, you and they both receive reward; and if they make a mistake, the reward is for you and the sin is upon them.”

Reference: Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, Kitab al-Adhān, Bab idhā lam Yutim al-Imām wa Atamma man Khalfah: 694

Duties and Responsibilities of the Imam​

❀ The imam should straighten the rows and train the congregation before prayer, as the Messenger of Allah ﷺ used to do.

❀ He should give time for reciting Thanā’.
Sayyidunā Abū Hurayrah رضي الله عنه said that the Prophet ﷺ would remain silent briefly between the opening takbīr and the recitation.

Reference: Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī: 744

Reference: Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: 598, 599

❀ The Messenger of Allah ﷺ used to recite Bismillāh al-Raḥmān al-Raḥīm before Sūrat al-Fātiḥah.

Reference: Abu Dāwūd, Kitab al-Ḥurūf wa al-Qirā’āt: 4001

(Ṣaḥīḥ)

❀ He ﷺ would recite Sūrat al-Fātiḥah slowly and clearly.

Reference: Musnad Aḥmad: 6/288, Ḥadīth: 26526

Reference: Abu Dāwūd: 4001

Reference: Kitāb al-Qirā’ah by al-Bayhaqī: 255

❀ Stretching words excessively to the point that their meaning changes is incorrect.

❀ In loud prayers, the imam should recite loudly enough for the followers to hear.

❀ The imam should say Āmīn loudly so that the followers can hear.

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:

إذا أمن الإمام فأمنوا

“When the imam says Āmīn, then you should also say Āmīn.”

Reference: Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, Kitab al-Adhān, Bab Jahr al-Imām bi al-Ta’mīn: 780

Reference: Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: 410

❀ The imam should consider the weak, elderly, and those with needs.

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:

فمن أم الناس فليتحفظ، فإن خلفه الضعيف والكبير وذا الحاجة

“Whoever leads people in prayer should make it light, for behind him are the weak, the elderly, and those with needs.”

Reference: Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, Kitab al-Adhān: 704

Reference: Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: 446

❀ However, the prayer should not be so short that the pillars cannot be performed with tranquility.

The Prophet ﷺ said to a man who did not pray properly:

ارجع فصل فإنك لم تصل

“Go back and pray, for you have not prayed.”

Reference: Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī: 793

Reference: Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: 397

❀ One should not pray behind an imam who prays so fast that the pillars cannot be performed correctly.

❀ If an emergency arises, the imam may shorten the prayer. The Prophet ﷺ would shorten the prayer upon hearing a child cry.

Reference: Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī: 708

Reference: Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: 470

❀ After completing the prayer, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ would turn to face the congregation.

Reference: Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, Kitab al-Adhān, Bab Yastaqbilu al-Imām al-Nās idhā Sallama: 845

Reference: Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: 2275