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The question

Is it permissible to pray behind a perpetrator of major sins after advising him and his rejecting the advice?

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Source: FtawySummarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 20261 min readAlso available in العربية
The answer

Muslims must choose an Imam for the mosque from among the people of goodness, righteousness, knowledge, and piety. If someone who is not qualified takes on this role, they must remove him and put forward someone who meets the conditions. If it is impossible to change him, they must advise him, remind him of Allah, and urge him to repent. If he does not respond, it is obligatory to stop praying behind him and pray behind another Imam in another mosque if one is available. However, if there is no other mosque or it is far away, and it is impossible to change him and his condition does not improve, then it is not permissible to abandon the congregation. Prayer behind him is valid according to the preponderant opinion, as some Companions prayed behind Al-Hajjaj despite his wickedness.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

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