Imamate of a Blind Ma‘dhur

Question

Zayd has an illness of passing wind because of which his wudu’ does not last. He leads the prayer in a mosque, is a hafiz of the Qur’an, but is blind. Apart from the imamate he has no other means of livelihood. He has also had this illness treated, but there has been no relief. What is the ruling on his imamate?

Answer

If this person is a ma‘dhur (a person with a continuous excuse), his imamate is impermissible. If he is not a ma‘dhur, his imamate is permissible provided that he takes care of purity and guards against najasa, and there is no one present more fit for imamate than he is; otherwise his imamate is makruh.

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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