What is the ruling on being led in prayer by an imam with tattoos?

All perfect praise be to Allaah, the Lord of the worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah and that Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His slave and Messenger.

If the Imaam in question is not capable of removing the tattoos, to the extent that removing them will surely cause him harm similar to that which makes it permissible for a Muslim to perform dry ablution instead of with water, then his prayer is valid and so is his leading of the people in prayer.

However, if the tattoos can be removed without causing any harm, from a Sharee'ah perspective, then his prayer is invalid and so is his leading of the people in prayer.

Sulayman Al-Jamal, the Shaafi‘i scholar, said about tattoos:

"Thereby, it is construed that whoever wears tattoos willingly, while being competent for religious assignments, and no potential harm that is similar to the harm that permits one to make dry ablution would result from their removal; then the area of his body that has the tattoos remains impure and is not cleared of the Hadath (incident of ritual impurity). Otherwise, he is excused and pardoned for keeping the tattoos. His ritual purity, as well as his leading of people in prayer, is valid."

You should know that tattoos are prohibited in the Sharee'ah, based on the authentic texts that curse the woman who tattoos others or herself. If this is the case for women, then it is more heinous and abominable for men, because it entails imitating women; a sin whose perpetrator is cursed on the tongue of the Messenger of Allaah, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam.

Assuming the role of an Imaam by a rebellious or disobedient person is valid, since the fundamental principle is that if one's prayer is valid for himself, then his leading of others in prayer is also valid.

According to the Sunnah, people should be led in prayer by the one who is the most knowledgeable in the Quran. This goes along with the other characteristics that are mentioned in the Hadeeth of the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam:

"People should be led in prayer by the one who is the most knowledgeable in the Quran. If they are all equal with regards to knowledge of the Quran, then the one who is the most knowledgeable in the Sunnah. If they are all equal with regards to knowledge of the Sunnah, then the one who was the first among them to make Hijrah (emigration from Mecca to Medina). If they are all equal with regards to Hijrah, then the one who had first embraced Islam." [Muslim]

Allaah Knows best.