Praying behind a man who curses the Prophet's companions

29-5-2001 | IslamWeb

Question:

If an Imam, who attributes to the companions of the Prophet that from which the Qur'an has declared their innocence, is leading a prayer say "Magrib -Salat". Can a Sunni pray behind him? Or vice versa? What is a rule regarding this? Please comment on this.

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Answer:

Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds; and blessings and peace be upon our Prophet Muhammad and upon all his Family and Companions.
The innovator should be advised and the right clarified to him. If he gives up his innovations that is good otherwise his rule depends on the type of innovations he observes. If his innovations are forms of disbelief like seeking help from any than Allah or sacrificing for anyone other than Allah, then you should not pray behind him and he does not deserve to be Imam (lead the prayer). The same rule applies to any person who attributes to the companions of the Prophet that from which the Qur'an has declared their innocence or who accuses the companions of disbelief or who accuses the mother of the believers, Aisha of bad deeds or who believes that the Qur'an is uncomplete. All the innovations cited here are forms of Kufr, disbelief. So anybody who believes in any of them should not be appointed Imam and Muslims should not pray behind him. However, there are minor innovations that do not reach Kufr. If the person practises only minor innovations, you could pray behind him.
Allah knows best.