What is the ruling on praying behind an Imam who is a Hafiz of the Qur’an but uttered phrases such as "I disbelieve the servants of Allah" and "I abandoned the Qur’an for your sake," in addition to vulgar language, and it is said that he receives a salary from the state without working and takes usurious loans?

The actions attributed to the Imam, such as unjustly consuming wealth, dealing in usury, lying, and uttering reprehensible words, are forbidden and render one a transgressor (fasiq). As for his statement, "I disbelieve the servants of Allah," it is an explicit act of apostasy according to scholars. Whoever attributes disbelief to himself has disbelieved, whether in jest or seriously. Prayer behind someone who says such a thing is not valid unless he announces his repentance and return to Islam. His situation is more severe than that of those who hold disbelieving innovations, behind whom prayer is not valid.