A minor hafiz leading the tarawih

Question

A boy of ten or twelve years has become a hafiz of the Qur’an, but he is a minor. May he recite the tarawih to other people in the blessed month of Ramadan — will the followers’ tarawih be completed? There is a fatwa of the respected Mawlawi Ghulam Ahmad, Shaykh al-Jami‘a of the Jami‘a ‘Aliya madrasa in Bahawalpur, that a minor hafiz may recite the noble Qur’an in tarawih and the tarawih is valid. Is the matter disputed, and if it is disputed, on which view is the fatwa given?

Answer

In “Fatawa Qadi Khan”, in [the section] on boys leading tarawih, it is stated: [ar]اختلفوا فيه؛ قال مشايخ العراق وبعض مشايخ بلخ: لا يجوز، وقال بعضهم: يجوز. وعن نصير بن يحيى أنه سئل عنها، قال: تجوز إذا كان ابن عشر سنين. وقال شمس الأئمة السرخسي: الصحيح أنه لا يجوز؛ لأنه غير مخاطب، وصلاته ليست بصلاة على الحقيقة، فلا تجوز إمامته كإمامة المجنون.

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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