QUESTION:

In one of your answers [Q-ID0002] you stated that praying in congregation is wajib.

However in my local area, the Imam who leads the prayer has very bad tajweed, and he also makes many mistakes ie missing wajibat and doing actions that are makruh tahriman in prayer (sometimes reciting the Qur’an in reverse order in each rak’ah etc). This is pretty much the same for any other masjid in my locality.

Would I still be sinful if I do not pray in jam’ah behind such people? And is it okay for me to pray home alone in this situation?

ANSWER:

Praying with congregation is wajib (necessary) upon Muslim men. However, if you do not find any Masjid near your area with the Imam praying correctly, you can pray at home.

In-order for one to be an Imam, one of the compulsory pre-requisites is that he must know all the fara’id (compulsory) and wajibaat (necessary) pillars of the prayer and all the points that nullify or makes the prayer makruh (disliked) .

Reciting the Qur’an incorrectly may lead to the incorrect meaning being said and it is even possible for the prayer to become nullified.

Al-Ikhtiyaar states: {the most preferred among people for imamat (leading the prayer) is the one who is most knowledgeable of the Sunnah} and that he recites good enough for Salah to be valid, and he does not make grave mistakes in the recitation. Abu Yusuf narrates: the Imam should be the most knowledgeable in Qir’at (recitation) amongst the people because the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وصحبه وسلم) said,

“The one who is most well versed in recitation of Qur’an should lead the prayers.”

And we say – knowledge (of fiqh) is very much required so this is the most preferred. And during the period of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وصحبه وسلم) people used to recite Qur’an with the rulings hence best reciters amongst them were the most knowledgeable.

[Al-Ikhtiyaar vol 1, page 199]

However, if it is possible to inform the Imam about his incorrect recitation or mistakes, either by talking to him or giving him a note, it should be done.

Allah knows best.

Answered by Mawlana Mohammed Kashif

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