a)      I would like to know whether a Quran Hafeez lead Jummat during Salaah and including Jummah prayer?

a.      The messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said, ‘the one who is most knowledgeable in Quran should lead the prayer’...and the companions of the prophet of Allah (peace be upon him) used to choose imam who knew surah Baqrah by heart. So, the sunnah is that the one who knows the most Quran should be the one who is leading the prayer.

b)      Do you have to be an Aleem to be an Imaam of a Mosque?

a.      The role of an Imam is not to just lead the prayer, rather it is to guide people who come to the masjid. Thus, he should have knowledge of Islam based upon Quran and Sunnah. So, if he knows the Quran but does not know any other science of Quran then he can just be an imam but not the person who conducts Islamic circles because that requires Islamic knowledge and not mere Quran Hifz.

c)      Does an Imaam have to hold an Islamic degree to lead prayer in a Mosque?

a.      To hold Islamic degree only shows that he has studied Islamic sciences and has passed their syllabus. This could be a good thing because then we know that such individual has studied islam for whatever years and has certificate to prove that. However, this is not the criteria, rather a proof because many of times, some people have been studying Islam privately with a sheikh without any certificate so in that case you can ask his sheik for a recommendation letter stating what he has studied and whether he has the ability to teach or not.

d)     Can you two separate Imaams lead the same (fard) prayer in a Mosque at the same time?

a.      The masjid is not a place of race, rather its a place of unity and if two imams are leading same prayer then that unity is broken. Rather the messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said, ‘i have made the imam to be followed, so when he makes takbeer then make takbeer, when he bows down then bow down..’ thus, it shows that people should be lead by one imam in same masjid and not two!

e)      At what time cannot an Imaam lead prayer if worshippers do not want to prayer behind him?

a.      When choosing imam for a masjid, he should be someone liked by people and not the opposite. This is why the companions used to have shura (body of counsellors) to elect the next imam and they would see whether he is someone liked by people or not. So, if he is not liked by people and he shouldn’t lead prayer. However, if there is no other person who is as qualified as him in leading the prayer then he should lead the prayer and consider the circumstances of people behind him. This was the instruction of the prophet given to Utham bin Abi A’s when he said to the prophet of Allah (peace be upon him);

‘O Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) appoint me as imam of my people (in prayer). He said, ‘you are their imam, but you should follow (observe the strength) of weakest amongst them and appoint a Mua’dhin who does not charges for his Adhan’ [reported by Sunna]