Imamate of an imam who does not pray the sunna

Question

We are village dwellers. Here a man leads the prayer who does not pray the sunna of ‘Isha’. If he is told [about it], he replies: “I am not going to pray it because I am told to.” He also does not give the adhan, saying that it is not wajib on him. What we wish to know is: is it permissible to pray behind such an imam or not?

Answer

If the adhan is not his responsibility and that is why he does not give it, there is no harm in that; let another person give the adhan. If he does not pray the sunnas there [in the mosque] but prays them at his home or somewhere else, or if he prays them not because people tell him to but because of the command of Muhammad ﷺ, then there is no harm, and this does not detract…

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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