Which is more deserving of leading the prayer (Imamah): the one who has memorized the Book of Allah but is unaware of the authentic Sunnah regarding prayer, or the one who has memorized less but prays according to the Sunnah? And does the ruling on reviling the Messenger (peace be upon him) apply to non-Muslims who have received a distorted image of Islam, and to Christians in Muslim lands who insult the Messenger?

The most knowledgeable in reciting the Qur’an (al-Aqra’) who is also learned in the jurisprudence of prayer (fiqh al-salat) should lead the prayer. If the most knowledgeable in reciting is not learned in the jurisprudence of prayer, then the jurist (al-faqih) should be given precedence over him. Even if the most knowledgeable in reciting is learned in the jurisprudence of prayer, the one who is more jurisprudentially profound in prayer (al-afqah fi al-salat) should be given precedence over him, because the Companions would not recite ten verses until they had learned them and all the knowledge and actions contained therein. Thus, the one who is more jurisprudentially profound in prayer is stronger in performing it than the one who is most knowledgeable in reciting but not a jurist.