Imamate of one who does not recite with correct pronunciation

Question

A person who cannot recite the qira’a clearly and correctly — that is, he does not distinguish between alif (ا) and ‘ayn (ع), ta (ت) and ta (ط), tha (ث) and sin (س), ha (ح) and ha (ہ), and dad (ض), dhal (ذ), zay (ز), za (ظ) — is it correct to follow such an imam or not? And if some of the villagers keep such an imam, will the sin be on the imam or on the villagers?

Answer

If there is someone better than him — one who knows the rulings, recites the Qur’an correctly and follows the sunna — then he should be made imam, and the said imam should be removed from the imamate, provided there is no strife (fitna) in doing so.

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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