Wahb – Ibn Jurayj – Nafi’ – Ibn ‘Umar...

Wahb – Ibn Jurayj – Nafi’ – Ibn ‘Umar, may Allah be pleased with him: Salim, the freed slave of Abu Hudhayfah, used to lead the earliest Muhajirun and the Sahabah of the Prophet, peace be upon him, in Salat in the mosque of Quba. Among them were Abu Bakr, ‘Umar, Abu Salamah, and Amir b.

Rabi’ah .[^10] So, the most senior Muhajirun – including Abu Bakr and ‘Umar – unanimously appointed Salim, a freed slave, as their Imam in salat pending the arrival of the Messenger of Allah, sallallahu ‘alaihi wa alihi , because he was more knowledgeable of the Qur’an than all of them. This, obviously, was in line with the Sunnah of Muhammad. Salim was a freed slave.

But, the ‘ulama of the Ahl al-Sunnah actually allow leadership in salat by even serving slaves and bastards too, as long as they are the best in Qur’anic recitation, as al-Hafiz declares: وإلى صحة إمامة العبد ذهب الجمهور وخالف مالك ... وإلى صحة إمامة ولد الزنا ذهب الجمهور The majority (of the scholars) accepted the correctness of leadership in salat by a slave. But, (Imam) Malik objected....

Also, the majority accepted the correctness of leadership in salat by a bastard .[^11] The supreme Salafi fiqh council in Saudi Arabia and across the world, al-Lajnah al-Daimah , also states: تصح إمامة العبد وولد الزنا في الصلاة، إذا كان كل منهما أهلا لذلك، من جهة الدين؛ لعموم قوله :يؤم القوم أقرؤهم لكتاب الله " ولا نعلم دليلا يمنع ذلك.

The leadership of the slave or the bastard in salat is correct , as long as each of them is qualified for it, from the religious aspect, due to the generality of his (i.e.

the Prophet’s) statement, “The people are to be led in salat by the best reciter of the Book of Allah among them.” We do not know any proof forbidding that .[^12] Even a small child can lead his grandfathers in salat , according to the same council: تصح إمامة الصبي الذي يعقل الصلاة؛ لقول النبي) ص" (يؤم القوم أقرؤهم لكتاب الله " The leadership of salat by a small child, who understands salat **, is correct**, due to the statement of the Prophet, peace be upon him: “The people are to be led in salat by the best reciter of the Book of Allah among them.”[^13] As such, if the Messenger of Allah ever truly designated Abu Bakr as Imam in salat during the former’s fatal illness – and he never did – then it would have been only because he considered him as having the best recitation among the Sahabah – nothing more, nothing less.