Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,

As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh. (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)

One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:

A person handicapped from birth can lead the daily prayers in a mosque & he will get the KHILAFAT from his SHAIKH.?

1. He does not stand properly

2. He does not have Five finger in right hand

3. He does not pronounce the word properly.

(There may be some grammatical and spelling errors in the above statement. The forum does not change anything from questions, comments and statements received from our readers for circulation in confidentiality.)

Answer:

Why a handicapped person cannot be imaam or Khaleefa?

In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is no one (no idol, no person, no grave, no prophet, no imam, no dai, nobody!) worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad(saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

Sahih Al-Bukhari Hadith 5.595         Narrated by Amr bin Salama

That he heard the Prophet (saws) say: “Offer such-and-such prayer at such-and-such time, and when the time for the prayer becomes due, then one of you should pronounce the Adhan (for the prayer),  and let the one amongst you who knows Qur'an most to lead the prayer."

Sahih Al-Bukhari Hadith 1.653         Narrated by Malik bin Huwairth

We went to the Prophet (saws) and we were all young men and stayed with him for about twenty nights. The Prophet (saws) was very merciful. He (saws) said, "When you return home, impart religious teachings to your families and tell them to offer perfectly such and such a prayer at such and such a time and such and such a prayer at such and such a time. And at the time of the prayer one of you should pronounce the Adhan, and the oldest of you should lead the prayer."

The criteria for leading the daily prayers is that one must be able to recite the Noble Quran in the best manner amongst those he is leading. If one is blind but can recite the Noble Quran in the best manner than there is no harm if he leads the prayers amongst normal people.

But if one cannot stand properly or some parts of his body are not normal then such a person cannot normally lead the prayers amongst normal people. This is because he will find it difficult to stand, bow, prostrate or sit and it will cause confusion within the prayer hall. One amongst the normal persons should lead the prayers.

The only time a handicapped person can lead the prayers is when the full congregation is handicapped. Then the prayers the person with the least handicapped can lead.

Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is only ones. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

Your brother and well wisher in Islam,

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