Imamate of One Who Commits Major Sins

Question

A certain man is the imam in the mosque of a neighbourhood. He frequently engages in ghiba (backbiting) together with the people of the neighbourhood; it has also been established that he lies in many matters. He accused a chaste woman of zina and uttered indecent words [about her] such as “harlot” and the like. Accordingly, because he accused such an innocent woman of zina, a case was once filed in a government court, he was charged, and after the offence was legally proven he also paid a fine of thirty (?)

Answer

Ghiba (backbiting), accusing a chaste [woman of zina] and the like are major sins, and one who commits such things is a fasiq, and the imamate of a fasiq is makruh tahrimi. If there is present some man more fit for the imamate, then the one who commits the aforementioned things should not be made imam; rather, another person should be made imam.

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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