What is the ruling on the imamate of a man who commits many sins in private, repents, and then returns to them? Should he abandon the imamate until he abstains from his sin?
If a person is qualified for the imamate, such as being the most eloquent of those present and the most knowledgeable of the , then it is preferable for him to step forward for the imamate, and his committing of sins should not prevent him from doing so. Satan may whisper to him to abandon the imamate due to his sins, in order to deter him from good. He must repent from his sins and strive against his lower self, while continuing to do good deeds like the imamate. For good deeds erase bad deeds, and the verse, "Do you enjoin righteousness upon people and forget yourselves?" (2:44), does not mean that one should abandon enjoining good just because one commits sins. Rather, it condemns those who enjoin good but do not practice it.
Summary from Ftawy's records · added here
Reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
Read the full answer on Ftawyhttps://ftawy.com/en/questions/26445
Where this answer came from
- Source platform
- Ftawy
- Original fatwa ID
- 26445
- Added here
- . This is when the answer was added to El Fatwa, not the fatwa's date.
- Text
- Summary from Ftawy's records, reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
- Read the full ruling
- Read the full answer on Ftawy