Whom to appoint as imam: a scholar with a short beard or another who follows the sunna?

Question

In a certain village there is a man whose beard is shorter than one fist-length, but he recites the Noble Qur’an with tajwid, has particular knowledge of [legal] rulings, is learned and discerning, and keeps to the limits of the lawful and the unlawful. Among the other people there is no one who recites the Qur’an with tajwid or knows the rulings of prayer and other necessary rulings, but their beards are one fist-length. In this situation, whom should be appointed imam? (2)

Answer

The one to be appointed imam is he who knows the necessary rulings of purification and prayer and recites the Holy Qur’an correctly enough for the prayer to be valid, even if he is not formally versed in tajwid, and who follows the sunna in his everyday life.

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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