Which is more worthy of leading the prayer: a hafiz of the Qur’an with one recitation who is a student of knowledge, or a hafiz of the Qur’an with the ten recitations but who is not a student of knowledge?

If a student of knowledge has a good grasp of fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence) and sunnah, and is capable of leading the prayer, then he has more right to lead than a reciter (qari’) who has mastered the ten qira'at (recitation styles) but lacks understanding of fiqh or knowledge. The majority of scholars from the Maliki, Shafi'i, and Hanafi schools of thought believe that the most learned in fiqh is more deserving if he can recite enough for the prayer, because he might encounter situations during the prayer that he would not know how to handle without knowledge of fiqh. Others hold the view that the best reciter should be given precedence, citing the hadith: "The people are led in prayer by the one among them who is the best reciter of the Book of Allah. If they are equal in recitation, then the one who is most knowledgeable of the Sunnah." The response to this argument is that during the time of the Prophet, peace be upon him, the Companions learned the Qur’an with its rulings, so the best reciter was also the most knowledgeable. However, in our time, a reciter might be skilled in Qur’an but have no share in knowledge, so the one most knowledgeable of the Sunnah is more deserving.