What is the ruling on praying behind an Imam who makes mistakes in reciting Al-Fatiha, insists on leading the prayer, and does not accept advice?
Errors in reciting Al-Fatiha are of two types: those that invalidate the prayer and those that do not. If the Imam's error invalidates the prayer, then he must be prevented from leading it, even if it means escalating the matter to the competent authorities. However, if the error does not invalidate the prayer, then his prayer is valid. Nevertheless, it is preferable to replace him with someone else, and it is advised to speak with the official Imam to prevent him from leading and to assign someone suitable for imamate.
Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026
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