The imamate of an unlearned man who recites incorrectly

Question

The imam of our village, after leading the ‘Id al-Fitr prayer, happily went back to his home. After his departure there was need of an imam. In the village a certain mulla had been staying for three months at one man’s house; he works as a tailor. He is a mulla only in name: he reads the Qur’an and Arabic incorrectly, that is, he has little knowledge. The close relatives of that man, agreeing among themselves and without consulting the villagers, told this mulla: “Settle in the mosque and do your sewing there.

Answer

The imamate of one who reads the Qur’an incorrectly in a way that corrupts the meaning, and who cannot read it correctly, is impermissible. If this account is true, it is necessary to remove the mulla mentioned from the imamate and to appoint as imam someone else who reads correctly and is fit for the imamate.

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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