Back to search

Is it better to leave the imamate to those who shorten the prayer, or to shorten it and abandon the Sunnah, especially with complaints about the prolongation of the prayer?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

If you are the Imam of a people, we advise you not to give up leading them in prayer. Shorten the prayer as long as you perform it completely with all its pillars and obligations, for it is permissible for the Imam to shorten the prayer. If the people of the mosque do not agree to follow the Sunnah in recitation, be gentle with them and teach them. Know that abandoning some recommended acts for the sake of winning hearts and preventing discord is permissible. If there is someone in the congregation who recites better than you, then put him forward to lead the prayer, based on the saying of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him: "The people are led in prayer by the one who is most knowledgeable of the Book of Allah."

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

Read the full answer on Ftawy