Assalaamu alaykum. What is the ruilling regarding praying behind an imam that moves a lot, especially while reciting aloud. By moving, I mean rocking back and forth and side to side and fidgeting with the hands on the chest. Is the prayer behind them invalid? May Allaah reward you.

All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of the worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah and that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger. 

Rocking and swaying when reciting the Quran, whether in prayer or outside the prayer, is contrary to the recommended etiquette of reciting the Quran.

The fatwa of the Standing Committee reads:

“Rocking when reciting the Quran is among the habits that should be abandoned, as it is contrary to the respect that must be shown to the Book of Allah, and also because what is required when reciting the Quran or hearing it is to listen to it attentively and to avoid fidgeting and frivolous conduct so that the reciter and listener both concentrate on reflecting on the Quran and on being humble and submissive to Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He. The scholars stated that this (rocking) is the habit of the Jews when reciting their book, and we are forbidden from imitating them.”

For more benefit, please refer to fatwa 91139.

If the movement of this imaam is little, then this does not invalidate the prayer and does not prevent the validity of praying behind him. But if his movements are many and successive, then this invalidates the prayer; in which case praying behind him is not valid. The scholars stated that if the movement in the prayer is abundant without a necessity, then it renders the prayer invalid. Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen clarified the limit of movement that renders the prayer invalid:

“Movement in prayer is prohibited if it is abundant, successive, and without a necessity.

Abundance: Some scholars said that abundance is three movements, so if a praying person moves three consecutive times without a necessity, then this is abundant movement which invalidates the prayer. Other scholars said that we cannot specify the number of movements because specifying the number requires evidence from the Quran or the Sunnah (and there is no such evidence). However, abundant movement is what people normally consider as abundant to an extent that when people see the person, they think that he is not praying because of his frequent movements.

Successive: this means that one movement follows the other.

Without a necessity: this means that there is no necessity. For example, we see a man moving a lot, fixing his garment, fixing his turban, and taking out his pen and writing what he remembers during the prayer; this is abundant and successive movement without a necessity.”

Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen also said, “As regards the forbidden movement (in prayer), it is the abundant and successive movement, such as a person who fidgets when he is standing in prayer, fidgets when he is bowing, fidgets when he is prostrating, and fidgets when he is sitting in Tashahhud to the point that the prayer goes out of its normal form. Such movement is prohibited because it invalidates the prayer.”

Allah knows best.