Imamate of one who divorced purely out of spite

Question

A man, although a religious scholar (‘alim), divorced his wife merely because “my brother-in-law (my sister’s husband) divorced my sister”; that is, the sister of each had been married to the other. When the latter first divorced the respected scholar’s sister, the respected scholar also, out of spite, divorced his sister. Moreover, he does not pay the mahr, maintenance and so on. What is the ruling on praying behind such an oppressor and keeping up relations with him in greeting (salam) and eating together?

Answer

Those who are not themselves involved in this wrongdoing, or in a wrongdoing greater than it (in violating the right of Allah or the rights of [His] servants), should not choose such a person as imam for their prayer.

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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