How Should An Imam Whose Ablution Is Nullified During Prayer Act?

How should an imam whose ablution is nullified during prayer act?

If the ablution of an imam is nullified during prayer unavoidably, for example, due to nose bleeding, he lets a person who is behind him and eligible to be the imam and take his place by leaving the mihrab. This is called as istikhlaf (Marghinani, al-Hidayah, I, 381). For example, Umar (ra) gave his place to Abdurrahman ibn Awf (ra) when he was wounded due to an attack whilst in prayer so that he could continue leading the prayer instead of him. Likewise, Ali (ra) assigned a member of congregation as imam instead of himself when his nose bled during prayer (Aliyy al-qari, Fath Bab al-‘Inayah, I, 296).

If the imam whose ablution is nullified leaves imamat without assigning a person to be imam instead of himself, prayer of the congregation is invalidated (Kasani, Bada’i, I, 226).

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