After many complaints, we have known that our Imam is causing mischief in the masjid. He listens to music and flirts women in the street, he also closes the door of women’s prayer room while he is inside it! The brother who calls the Adhaan asked him if what is being said about him is correct. The imam answered proudly saying: “she is my lover, and whoever does not like the way I am, he does not have to pray behind me. Some brothers went to his father and complained about him; his father answered: “he does not listen to me, and I cannot do anything about this” he also added: “I ask Allah to grant us a righteous imam to our masjid”.
Please advise us.
Praise be to Allaah.
Firstly:
If what the muezzin said about this immoral
imam is true, then he is in great danger and there is the fear that he may
fall into apostasy or meet a bad end. That is because:
1.
He is taking the house of Allaah as a place
for his immoral actions and evil deeds, but Allaah has enjoined that His
houses should be venerated and kept pure, and Allaah has established them
for prayer, du’aa’ and i’tikaaf. If they are taken as places for immoral
actions with women, then this is extremely reprehensible; the hypocrites did
not even do that in their mosque, “masjid al-diraar!
Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“In houses (mosques) which Allaah has
ordered to be raised (to be cleaned, and to be honoured), in them His Name
is remembered [i.e. Adhaan, Iqaamah, Salaah(prayers), invocations,
recitation of the Qur’aan]. Therein glorify Him (Allaah) in the mornings and
in the afternoons or the evenings”
[al-Noor 24:36]
The “houses” referred to in this verse are
the mosques.
Ibn Katheer (may Allaah have mercy on him)
said:
Allaah has enjoined that they be raised
i.e., cleansed of filth, idle talk and actions, and words that are not
befitting therein. Qataadah said: This refers to the mosques which Allaah
has commanded should be built, raised, maintained and purified. There are
many ahaadeeth about building mosques, venerating them, respecting them,
perfuming them and scenting them with incense. End quote.
Tafseer Ibn Katheer
(6/62).
2.
The other matter is his boasting of sin and
flaunting it. Committing sin in secret whilst fearing Allaah is not like
doing it openly, flaunting it and boasting about it.
See the answer to question no.
9562, which
includes the warning addressed to the one who commits sin openly and flaunts
it.
Secondly:
What you have to do is advise him, and
restrain him, and take him to some scholars and elders who can offer him
advice and explain to him the seriousness of his actions, because he is an
example for others and it is not appropriate for him to do these things. The
people are influenced by the imam of their mosque and they look as his
actions as the application of what he reads in the Qur’aan; but this advice
should be given with kindness and wisdom.
It was narrated from Tameem al-Daari (may
Allaah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) said: “Religion is sincerity.” We said: To whom? He
said: “To Allaah, to His Book, to His Messenger, and to the leaders of the
Muslims and their common folk.” Narrated by Muslim (55).
If he responds to this advice and stops the
evil deeds that he is doing and stops listening to evil things, then he will
have done well, and you will have reward for that. But if he rejects your
advice and persists in his evil and deviation, then you must take the next
steps:
1.
Address a complaint to the relevant
authorities, which should be signed by all the worshippers in the mosque. It
is hoped that the authorities will take the appropriate action of warning
him or dismissing him from his post.
2.
Prevent him from leading the prayers, if you
are able to do that without it resulting in more trouble or arguments among
the worshippers. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) prevented a man from leading his people in prayer because he led a
congregation in prayer and spat in the direction of the qiblah. The Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said to him: “You have
offended Allaah and His Messenger.” Narrated by Abu Dawood (481) and classed
as hasan by al-Albaani in Saheeh Abi Dawood.
The evils that your imam has committed are
worse than spitting in the direction of the qiblah whilst praying.
3.
If you are not able to do that, then you
should refrain from praying behind him in order to denounce him. If there is
no other mosque where you can pray, then there is no sin in your praying
behind him, and his sin is on himself. Praying behind an evildoer or immoral
person is permissible and valid, and it is better than a person praying on
his own. It is not permissible to forgo praying Jumu’ah prayer and prayers
in congregation on the basis that the imam is an evildoer or immoral
person.
Shaykh al-Islam (may Allaah have mercy on
him) said:
With regard to praying behind those who
follow whims and desires and innovations, and behind immoral people, there
is a well known difference of scholarly opinion. But the moderate opinion
concerning these people is that appointing one of these people to lead the
prayer is not permissible when it is possible to appoint someone else. If he
is one who commits immoral actions or innovations openly, then it is
obligatory to denounce him and tell him not to do that, and the minimum
level of denouncing is shunning him, so that he will give up his immoral
actions or bid’ah. Hence the majority of imams differentiated between the
daa’iyah and others: if a daa’iyah commits evil openly then he deserves to
be denounced for it, unlike the one who keeps quiet, who is like one who
commits sin secretly, so he should not be denounced openly, because if the
sin is done secretly it does not affect anyone but the one who does it; but
if he commits sin openly and is not denounced, then this harms everyone. End
quote.
Majmoo’ al-Fataawa
(23/342).
And he (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:
The imams are unanimously agreed that it is
makrooh to pray behind a faasiq, but they differed as to whether the prayer
is valid. It was said that it was not valid, as was the view of Maalik and
Ahmad in one of the two reports narrated from them. And it was said that it
is valid, as was the view of Abu Haneefah and al-Shaafa’i, and mentioned in
the other view from Maalik and Ahmad, but they did not dispute the fact that
such a one should not be appointed. End quote.
Majmoo’ al-Fataawa
(23/358).
See also the answer to question no.
47884.
Thirdly:
This imam should realize that his sin is not
like the sin of others, because he has knowledge of the shar’i rulings, and
he is leading the people in prayer which is the role of the Prophets,
caliphs and scholars. There is a stern warning to imams, that the imam’s
prayer will not be accepted if the people praying behind him hate him
because of his evildoing or innovation (bid’ah).
It was narrated that Abu Umaamah (may Allaah
have mercy on him) said: The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him) said: “There are three whose prayer goes no further
than their ears: the runaway slave, until he returns; a woman whose husband
remains angry with her overnight; and the imam who leads people in prayer
when they dislike him to lead them.”
Narrated and classed as hasan by al-Tirmidhi
(360); also classed as hasan by al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Tirmidhi.
Al-Shawkaani (may Allaah have mercy on him)
said:
The apparent meaning of the ahaadeeth which
warn the one who leads people in prayer when they dislike him leading them,
is that his prayer will not be accepted. End quote.
Al-Sayl al-Jiraar
(1/255).
This imam should beware of the consequences
of his deeds and sins. We ask Allaah to guide him.
And Allaah knows best.
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