A scholar leading the prayer and delivering the khutba without permission in the presence of the appointed khatib and imam

Question

This humble one has for a long time been performing the service of imam at the Congregational Mosque of Kewrai. My sincere wish is to carry out the Shar‘i services — imamate, khutba and teaching — to the extent of my knowledge, although I am an employee of a government hospital. Having applied to the government of my own accord for retirement on pension, I kept working at my home station while on agreed leave; then, entrusting the work of the imamate and the madrasa to my son ‘Abd al-Ghani, I went to my place of…

Answer

Removing one who has been appointed khatib and imam without a Shar‘i reason is wrong; and it is not permissible for any scholar, in his presence and without his permission, to take over the imamate and the khutba on his own. This is a wrong way of acting.

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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