Refusing out of partisanship to pray Eid behind the imam

Question

At the time of the Eid al-Adha prayer, when the imam stepped onto the place of prayer, half of the people said, “We will not pray behind him,” and the other half said, “We will not pray behind your imam.” In short, two congregations formed and the prayer was held in two places. Please tell us: is the prayer valid in this way or not? Or what course should be adopted on such an occasion?

Answer

The prayer of both groups of people was indeed valid, but adopting such a course — objecting to someone’s imamate without any Shari‘a reason, purely out of partisanship (ta‘assub), and holding separate congregations — is an act blameworthy and detestable in every respect, both by the Shari‘a and by morals. It is necessary to avoid it completely.

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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