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What is the ruling on an eleven-and-a-half-year-old boy leading the prayer if he is the best reciter among those present, and is the prayer behind him valid?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

If a boy reaches an age where he can comprehend, such that his prayer is valid, then his imamate (leading the prayer) is valid, even for the Friday prayer. This is supported by the fact that Amr ibn Salama led the prayer during the time of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, when he was seven years old. The validity of his imamate is also argued by his being put forward if he is the best reciter among the people, due to the saying of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him: "The people are led in prayer by the one among them who is most knowledgeable of the Book of Allah."

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

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