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Fatwa CenterDuties of the Imam
Question
Here in Mauritius we have a lot of social problems in our Islamic community, and I believe the cure to these problems is to have people with good Islamic knowledge and social power, e.g. the Mutawalli of a mosque. Here in Mauritius, unfortunately being a Mutawalli is just a title; besides looking into the daily running of the Masjid, he is not even aware of his duties and responsibilities. In the time of our grand fathers, Mutawallis knowing Islam and responsibilities administrated the community well. This is why today I am seeking all information concerning responsibilities and duties of Mutawallis of mosques.
Answer
Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds; and may His blessings and peace be upon our Prophet Muhammad and upon all his Family and Companions.
The fundamental duty of an Imam is to lead the prayer in a manner that the people praying behind him would establish their prayer properly and completely.
Ahmad, Abu Dawud, Tirmizi and Ibn Majah reported that Abu Hurairah narrated that the Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam) said: “The Imam is responsible, and the Muezzin (the person calling people to prayer) is entrusted with giving the call, O Allah, guide the Ummah and forgive the Muezzins (the callers to the prayer)”. [Albani said that this Hadith is authentic].
The author of Awn Al-Ma’bud said: ‘The Imam is responsible’, means is in charge of duly performing the prayer as a leader of the people praying behind him’.
Al-Khatabi said: ‘The Imam is responsible means that the Imam should preserve the Salat and ensure the execution of the right number of Rak’ah for the people praying behind’.
Ibn Hazm (may Allah have mercy on him) stated the obligatory (Wajib) conditions for the Imam as follows: ‘Mature, sound, male, Muslim, pious, Qari’ (reciter of Qur'an), knowledgeable about the requirement of his prayer, fluent’. He excerpted these conditions from “Mawahib Al-Jalil Fi Shahi Mukhtassar Khalik”.
It is not a requirement for the Imam to know of the Islamic Jurisprudence, more than the requirements of Salat.
It is not required from him to be able to solve people’s social problems.
But there is no doubt that it is better for the Imam to be aware of all the Islamic Jurisprudence, aware of the real social problems of people, and be able to solve those problems. Since, people generally refer to the Imam about religious or social matters that they encounter, if the Imam cannot respond to any of the above, then this would have a negative effect on the questioners.
Allah knows best.
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