The Question of Imamate

The Question of Imamate

1992 1-2 January-February 10-11 The Question of Imamate (476) Inaction Versus Action It was once brought to my attention that an acquaintance of mine was leading a campaign against the Imam (prayer leader) of his locality. According to him, Salat (liturgical prayer) could not be lead by that particular person because he was a heretic. He had tried his best, but he had not been able to oust the Imam from his post. This, however, had the effect of dividing the Muslims of that area into two separate groups. Peace and good relations had been destroyed and in their place now there was hatred, disagreement and violence. An action which was intended to be positive had produced a negative result.

When I met the gentleman in question, I asked him why he had raised this issue when it is clearly stated in a hadith that prayers may be offered under the leadership of anyone, be he good or bad. It also pointed out that the Imamate was conceived of as being for administrative purposes. What determines the efficacy of prayer is not the character of the person leading the prayers but the good intentions of the person saying the prayer. Whether a prayer is accepted or not depends entirely upon the virtues of the person saying it. It serves no useful purpose then to find fault with the Imam, because that is another issue altogether.

In reply to this he said, ‘You are an Alim (religious scholar) and you are misdirecting me, by quoting the wrong hadith. The one you have quoted deals with prayer lead by a sinner. This is a different matter, because it concerns a heretic. And prayer lead by a heretic is not permitted. There is a hadith which says: Do not pray behind an innovator.”

I argued that understanding the true meaning of the Hadiths was not just a question of understanding the separate words of which they were made up. It was more important to understand the spirit of Islam with which they were imbued. I conceded that it was true that in the other tradition, prayer lead by a heretic was forbidden, but pointed out that rule held good only when there was a choice between a true follower of the Sunnah and an innovator. In his case, it was evident that there had been no other option. The only actual choice was between the heretic Imam on the one hand, and prolonged dissension on the other. Under such circumstances it was preferable to retain the services of this Imam in order to preserve Muslim unity.

It must be remembered that Islam is a result-oriented religion. The end result is firmly kept in mind until the very last. Only such steps are permissible in Islam as result in goodness, so that refraining from taking action is as important as taking the initiative, if the latter course would lead to undesirable situations.