The ruling on an imam who is not regular in the prayer

Question

Zayd is the imam of Bakr’s mosque. Zayd regularly receives a salary from the mosque and food from the worshippers. Zayd mostly keeps sleeping, until the fixed time of the prayer passes, and sometimes he is absent the whole day for his personal business, that is, trade, and the people pray individually and go about their work. In such a situation, will those who pray receive the reward of the congregation, since they are compelled [to do so] because of the imam, or [the reward] of their individual prayer?

Answer

When the imam leads the prayer while taking a salary, punctuality is incumbent on him: as a rule he should be present in the mosque at the prayer times. Being occupied with trade and the like during the prayer times is not permissible even for other people, let alone for a salaried imam. Such a person squanders both the right of Allah and the rights of [His] servants.

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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