Question: Is it permissible to pray behind an Imam who does not pronounce Arabic letters properly? For example, he cannot tell the difference between a ت and a ط? Or, he mispronounces other letters and words, which even lead to changes in the meaning of the Qur’an, or grammatical mistakes, even in Surah Al-Fatiha?
In the Name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful.
Imam Ahmed Al-Dardir, the commentator on the Mukhtasar mentions that the strongest position is that praying behind the one who makes grammatical mistakes (al-lahin) or the one who cannot tell the difference between the letters, the prayer is valid, even if it was Surah Al-Fatiha, even if the meaning was changed as a result, as long as the reciter did not intend to make grammatical errors or change the letters. Likewise, if there was someone present who was capable of reciting properly, the follower would be sinful if instead, they followed the one who recited incorrectly.
This is the relied-upon position, although there is a strong difference of opinion in this matter, with a total of six opinions in the school.
There is also the situation of the one with a lisp, or speech impediment (al-laakin) who is unable to pronounce the letters properly, due to a natural speech impediment or due to being a non-Arab. This is also the subject to a difference of opinion. Imam Al-Dasuqi summarizes that the preponderant opinion is that it is permissible.
It is also worth noting that in the case of the Friday prayer, one of the preconditions of the Imam of the prayer is that he be the one who gave the Khutba (the khatib). In this case, there is only one person capable of leading the prayer, so the follower would not be sinful in following the Imam who recited this way.
Written by Uthman Qureshi
Reference:
Al-Sharh Al-Saghir by Imam Ahmed Al-Dardir, 1/437
(وَ) صَحَّتْ (بِلَحْنٍ) فِي الْقِرَاءَةِ (وَلَوْ بِالْفَاتِحَةِ) إنْ لَمْ يَتَعَمَّدْ، (وَأَثِمَ) الْمُقْتَدِي بِهِ (إنْ وَجَدَ غَيْرَهُ) مِمَّنْ يُحْسِنُ الْقِرَاءَةَ وَإِلَّا فَلَا (وَ) صَحَّتْ (بِغَيْرِ) أَيْ بِقِرَاءَةِ غَيْرِ (مُمَيِّزٍ بَيْنَ كَضَادٍ وَظَاءٍ) بِالْمُعْجَمَتَيْنِ كَمَا فِي لُغَةِ بَعْضِ الْعَرَبِ الَّذِينَ يَقْلِبُونَ الضَّادَ ظَاءً، وَأَدْخَلَتْ الْكَافُ مَنْ يَقْلِبُ الْحَاءَ الْمُهْمَلَةَ هَاءً أَوْ الرَّاءَ لَامًا أَوْ الضَّادَ دَالًا كَمَا فِي بَعْضِ الْأَعَاجِمِ. (لَا) تَصْلُحُ (إنْ تَعَمَّدَ) اللَّحْنَ أَوْ تَبْدِيلَ الْحُرُوفِ بِغَيْرِهَا فَلَا يَصِحُّ الِاقْتِدَاءُ بِهِ.
Hashiyat Al-Dasuqi by Imam Muhammad ibn Arafa Al-Dasuqi, 1/333
(قَوْلُهُ وَهُوَ مَنْ لَا يَسْتَطِيعُ إخْرَاجَ بَعْضِ الْحُرُوفِ) أَيْ لِعَجْزِهِ طَبْعًا عَنْ التَّعَلُّمِ وَمَا مَرَّ مِنْ الْخِلَافِ فِيمَنْ لَمْ يُمَيِّزْ بَيْنَ ضَادٍ وَظَاءٍ فِيمَنْ يَقْدِرُ عَلَى التَّعَلُّمِ وَعُمْدَةُ الْمُؤَلِّفِ فِي الْجَوَازِ قَوْلُهُ فِي التَّوْضِيحِ نَقَلَ اللَّخْمِيُّ أَنَّ لِمَالِكٍ فِي الْمَجْمُوعَةِ إجَازَةَ ذَلِكَ ابْتِدَاءً وَحَكَى فِي الْجَلَّابِ أَيْضًا الْجَوَازَ وَحَكَى ابْنُ الْعَرَبِيِّ الْجَوَازَ فِي قَلِيلِ اللُّكْنَةِ وَالْكَرَاهَةَ فِي بَيِّنِهَا وَلِابْنِ رُشْدٍ فِي الْأَلْكَنِ لَا يُعِيدُ مَأْمُومُهُ اتِّفَاقًا وَتُكْرَهُ إمَامَتُهُ مَعَ وُجُودِ مَرْضِيٍّ غَيْرِهِ لَكِنَّ ابْنَ عَرَفَةَ قَدْ صَدَّرَ بِالْجَوَازِ وَهَذَا يَدُلُّ عَلَى رُجْحَانِهِ اهـ بْن.