Who Should We Choose to Be Imam?
Question: Assalamu ‘alaykum, Who should we choose to be Imam? There is someone who memorized the most Quran out of all of us, and also knows how to recite Qur’an with tajweed but he takes too long.
Answer: Wa ‘alaykum assalam wa rahmatullah wa barakrtuh
I pray you are well.
In your situation, the one who knows the most about the rulings of the prayer should lead, and then the one who knows the Qur’an best, then the most God-fearing, the eldest, and the one with the best character. That is the general order (Shurunbulali, Maraqi al Falah).
It seems the current imam is fine to lead if there is no one more learned regarding the rulings of the prayer. He should, however, shorten the prayer to a length that the followers can handle. Yes, there may be time left to your next class, but your classmates may want to rest their minds a bit more to be fresh for the next session.
Not Chasing People Away
The Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, quite sternly, once said in a sermon, “O People! Indeed, some of you chase people away! Whoever of you leads a prayer let him shorten it, for amongst you are the weak, the elderly, and those with needs to take care of!” (Bukhari and Muslim)
If he wants to lengthen his prayers, the sunnas are a perfect opportunity. Also, it’s not wise to unnecessarily do things which make people dislike you.
May Allah grant you the best of both worlds.
[Shaykh] Abdul-Rahim Reasat
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
Shaykh Abdul-Rahim Reasat began his studies in Arabic Grammar and Morphology in 2005. After graduating with a degree in English and History he moved to Damascus in 2007 where, for 18 months, he studied with many erudite scholars. In late 2008 he moved to Amman, Jordan, where he continued his studies for the next six years in Sacred Law (fiqh), legal theory (Usul al-fiqh), theology, hadith methodology, hadith commentary, and Logic. He was also given licenses of mastery in the science of Qur’anic recital and he was able to study an extensive curriculum of Qur’anic sciences, tafsir, Arabic grammar, and Arabic eloquence.
