Answered by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
Who can lead congregational prayer? I know a Muslim brother who knows more suras of the Quran and ahadith than I do. I have been telling him to lead the prayer when the two of us pray together. Is it forbidden, or not recommended, for me to lead him in prayer? What are the criteria for determining which of us leads the prayer?
Walaikum assalam wa rahmatullah,
The Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) said,
“The one most versed in the Book of Allah should lead. If equal, then the one most knowledgeable of the Sunna should lead.” [Muslim, Abu Dawud, Tirmidhi, Nasa’i and Ibn Maja, with the wording being Muslim’s]
It is best that the one more learned in the rulings of prayer lead, then the one whose recitation is better. This is the proper understanding of ‘most versed in the Book of Allah,’ as the scholars explain.
It is not obligatory, however, for the more learned to lead, though it is best. [Shurunbulali, Imdad al-Fattah Sharh Nur al-Idah]
Shaykh al-Islam al-Marghinani explained in the Hidaya that knowledge of the rulings of prayer is given precedence over good recitation because:
a) knowledge is required throughout the actions of prayer, while recitation is but one integral, and
b) those most-versed in the Qur’an at the time of the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) were also the most knowledgeable; because this is often not the case in our times, we give precedence to the more knowledgeable. [Marghinani, al-Hidaya, 1.346]
Imam Shurunbulali reminds us in his Shurunbulaliyya (a Hashiya on Mulla Khusro’s Durar) that,
“This is only when there is no set imam (ratib). If there is one, then he is given precedence over others, even if they are more knowledgeable, as mentioned in al-Bahr.”[Shurunbulali, Hashiyat al-Durar, 1.85]
And Allah alone gives success.
Wassalam,
Faraz Rabbani
Imam Abu Hanifa (Allah have mercy on him) said, “Fiqh is to know one’s self: what is for it and against it.”