Is it valid for an Imaam who is sitting down on a wheelchair or on the ground because of being a handicapped to lead people in prayer while they are standing behind him? If not, does this ruling also apply to a handicapped Imaam leading non-Arabic speakers?

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.

It should be noted that Muslim jurists recommended that if the Imaam is ill or physically unable to stand up during the congregational prayer, he should choose a successor from the congregation to replace him and lead the prayer. This is due to the different opinions of Muslim scholars with regards to the validity of the congregational prayer when the Imaam is physically unable to lead the prayer. In addition to this, scholars believed that the prayer of a worshipper who is standing up is closer to perfection than that of a worshipper who is sitting down.

However, there should be a distinction between an Imaam who is ill and has a temporary disability making him unable to stand up during the prayer and the one who is permanently handicapped on a wheelchair. If the Imaam was temporarily unable to stand up during the congregational prayer and there was hope for recovery and he was an appointed Imaam of a certain mosque, it is permissible for him to lead the congregational prayer, and the worshippers in such a case are obliged to sit down as well. This is according to the preponderant opinion, as will be clarified in the following lines.

However, it is impermissible to appoint an Imaam who is permanently handicapped and there is no hope for his recovery, as this entails that the worshippers would perform the prayers while sitting down all the time without any need or necessity.

The fact that the worshippers do not speak Arabic does not justify the permissibility of praying behind such an Imaam.

Muslim jurists differed with regards to the permissibility of praying behind an Imaam who is sitting while the worshippers are standing up. There are three opinions in this regard:

1-      It is not permissible for an Imaam who performs the prayer while sitting down to lead those who can perform prayer while standing up. This is the opinion held by the Maaliki school of Fiqh.

2-      It is permissible for an Imaam who is sitting to lead those who perform the prayer while standing under two conditions. The first is if he was the regular Imaam of the mosque's neighborhood and that there is hope for his recovery and this is the opinion adopted by the Hanbali school of Fiqh. This is based on the Hadeeth where the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said: "The Imaam is to be followed. If he prays standing, then pray standing, and if he prays sitting, then pray sitting, all of you." [Al-Bukhari and Muslim]

‘Aa’ishah said, "The Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, led us in prayer at his house while sitting during his illness whereas some people prayed behind him standing. The Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, beckoned them to sit down. Upon completion of the prayer, he, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said: "The Imaam is to be followed: bow when he bows, raise your heads (i.e. stand erect) when he raises his head and when he says, 'Sami‘a Allaahu liman-hamidah' (i.e. Allaah Has Heard those who sent praises to Him) say 'Rabbana wa laka Al-Hamd' (i.e. O our Lord! All praises are for You). And if he prays standing, then pray standing, and if he prays sitting, then pray sitting, all of you." [Al-Bukhari and Muslim]

This was applied by four of the Companions : Usayd ibn Hudhayr, Jaabir, Qays ibn Fahd and Abu Hurayrah as Ibn Qudaamah mentioned in Al-Mughni.

The Hanbali scholars believed that, for worshippers praying behind an Imaam who is sitting down while they are standing, there are two opinions regarding the validity of their prayer. The first opinion is that the prayer is valid, though it is recommended for them to follow the Imaam and sit down as well. However, the other opinion is that the worshippers are obliged to perform the prayer while sitting down just like the Imaam, as deduced from the previously citied evidence, as the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, ordered Muslims to do so.

If the Imaam began the congregational prayer while standing and then felt unable to continue the prayer standing and sat down, the worshippers should continue their prayer standing. This is the opinion adopted by the Hanbali school of Fiqh. The evidence is what the Companions did when Abu Bakr led them in prayer while standing and, when the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, came out of his room, Abu Bakr and the rest of the Companions prayed behind the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, while he was sitting and they completed their prayers while standing.

3-      The Hanafi and Shaafi‘i scholars believe that it is permissible for people to pray standing behind an Imaam who cannot stand in the prayer. They relied on the fact that the Companions performed the prayer while standing behind the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, and he was sitting, as mentioned in the previously citied Hadeeth. They believed that this incident took place after the other occasion when the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, enjoined the Companions to sit down behind the Imaam who is unable to pray while standing. They believed that this ruling (i.e. performing the prayer while sitting down behind an Imaam who is sitting down) may have been abrogated. We would like to comment on this opinion by saying that scholars should not consider the option of abrogation except when there is no means to combine between two (seemingly contradicting) religious texts. However, in this case, the Hanbali scholars combined the two Hadeeths.

We would like to point out that some contemporary scholars favored the permissibility of praying while standing behind an Imaam who is sitting down, even though the Imaam is not the regular Imaam of the mosque and there is no hope for his recovery. In such a case, the contemporary scholars believed that the worshippers should perform the prayer while sitting down, just like the Imaam, even if it meant that they would abandon the obligation of standing during the prayer all the time.

The chosen opinion is what we have previously underlined. First, there should be a distinction between the regular Imaam who becomes ill and there is hope for his recovery and the one who becomes ill and there is no hope for recovery as well as between the Imaam who is not the regular Imaam and the one appointed by the people.

We would like to highlight that it is permissible for an Imaam who is performing prayer while sitting down to lead those who are sitting as well, according to the majority of Muslim scholars.