Can A Person Who Has Already Established A Prayer Alone Or Led It As The Imam Be The Imam Of Another Congregation For The Same Prayer?

Can a person who has already established a prayer alone or led it as the imam be the imam of another congregation for the same prayer?

The condition of an imam should not be lower than that of the congregation in terms of the type of the prayer to be performed while the condition of the congregation can be lower than that of the imam. Therefore, a person who is performing a nafl prayer cannot be the imam of those who are establishing a fardh prayer, but a person who is performing a fardh prayer can be the imam of people who are performing a nafl prayer (Marghinani, al-Hidayah, I, 377; Ibn al-Humam, Fath I, 381; Ibn Abidin, Radd al-Muhtar, II, 339; Dasuqi, Hashiyah, I, 340; Buhuti, ar-Rawd, p. 134).

The Prophet Muhammad (saw) said, “A fardh prayer cannot be performed twice in the same day.” (Daraqutni, as-Sunan, II, 285; Ibn Abi Shaybah, al-Musannaf, III, 206) For this reason, the second prayer will be nafl. In this case, as the imam will be in a lower condition than the congregation, that person’s imamah will not be valid.

According to the Shafi’i school and to the opinion preferred by Hanbalis, a person who will establish a fardh prayer may follow someone who is establishing a nafl prayer. According to these ijtihads, a person who has established a time’s prayer may be the imam of others for the same time’s prayer. The prayer established by the imam will be valid as nafl and the prayer established by the congregation will be valid as fardh (Mawardi, al-Hawi, II, 316; Ibn Qudamah, al-Mughni, III, 67-68).

Source: Presidency Of Religious Affairs The Turkey, High Board of Religious Affairs FATWAS