The imamate of an educated man without a beard

Question

In a certain village there is a mosque in which Zayd leads the prayers as imam. Zayd does not keep a beard. In the village only Zayd is educated enough to be fit for the imamate; the other people are only capable of praying [themselves] and cannot read the khutba and the like. In such a situation, what is the ruling regarding Zayd’s imamate? Moreover, some of those who are not capable of reading the khutba do keep beards. Sometimes people come who are quite learned and also keep beards.

Answer

Zayd ought to keep his beard in accordance with the Sacred Law and then lead the prayer. The one who can lead the prayer but does not know the khutba should recite “al-Hamd” (Surat al-Fatiha), salawat, the third kalima and istighfar — and the khutba will thereby be fulfilled; it is not necessary to recite precisely the khutba written in the books.

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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