Does the Prophetic Hadith: "Pray behind every righteous and wicked person" contradict the Quranic verse: "And [mention, O Muhammad], when Abraham was tried by his Lord with commands and he fulfilled them. He [Allah] said, "Indeed, I will make you a leader for the people." [Abraham] said, "And of my offspring?" [Allah] said, "My covenant does not extend to the wrongdoers""?

The aforementioned Hadith is weak, therefore it is not suitable to contradict the noble verse. Prayer behind a disobedient person who persists in his disobedience is valid according to the majority, but he should not be put forward for imamate. The saying of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, indicates its validity: "They pray for you; if they are right, it is for you, and if they are wrong, it is for you and against them." The imams agreed on the undesirability of praying behind a fasiq (transgressor), but they differed on its validity, and the correct view is that it is valid. It was said regarding the noble verse that the covenant is prophethood, and injustice is polytheism, or that an unjust person cannot be an imam to be followed, or that what is meant by imamate is leadership.