In Salah, the Imam should be a qualified man. Qualifications of the Imam is elaborated in the Sunnah of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, as clarified in books of Jurisprudence.
Sheikh Ahmad Kutty, a senior lecturer and an Islamic scholar at the Islamic Institute of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, states: “Reading from the Qur’an is an integral aspect (Rukn or Fard) of Salah, according to the stated rules of Prayer in Islam. This is a view generally accepted by all schools of jurisprudence, and it has been supported by clear evidence from both the Qur’an and the Sunnah.
The Prophet, peace and blessings be on him, has clearly instructed us that when we choose a person to lead Salah, we must do so based primarily on his level of knowledge of the Qur’an. Stipulating the credentials of people who are qualified to lead the Salah, the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “The one who is most versed in the Qur’an shall lead the people (in Salah). If all of them posses the same level of expertise in the knowledge of the Qur’an, then he who has the best understanding of the Sunnah shall lead…” (Reported by Muslim)
The Prophet’s own practice of appointing Imams was also consistent with the same principle: he’d always chose persons who were most proficient in the Qur’an. Now, this is not to be mistaken with the prevalent notion these days that a person who knows how to chant the Qur’an or who has memorized the Qur’an is the best to lead Salah. What the Prophet, peace and blessings be on him, meant here was that besides the ability to recite the Qur’an properly, the Imam should also possess sound knowledge of the Qur’an.
Based on the above, all scholars agree on the ruling that one is not allowed to lead Salah if he is not able to read the Qur’an properly, especially if there are people in the congregation who know to do so. If such a person does lead under this circumstance, the Salah is considered invalid according to the rules of Islamic jurisprudence (Fiqh).
If, however, all of the people in a congregation are deficient in their knowledge of the Qur’an, then the issue is different. Because of the rule of necessity (Darurah), their Salah is considered valid. However, this does not absolve the person who is leading Salah from learning to improve his reading of the Qur’an. We must remember that the Qur’an contains the words of Allah and as such we should try to read it properly. When we read the Qur’an improperly we end up distorting its meanings, which indeed is a grave offence.
In light of the above explanation, if a person who is deficient in knowledge of the Qur’an imposes himself to lead Salah, he is guilty of a most heinous sin. He also carries on his shoulders the sins of all those who pray behind him.
If, on the contrary, he has been put forward by the people to lead in spite of the fact that there are others who are qualified, then they incur the brunt of the sin. This, however, does not absolve the person who leads Salah from his sin, especially if he has been told the gravity of the offence he is committing.
The Prophet (peace be on him) said, “One of the persons whose Salah will not ascend to Allah is that of one who leads Salah for people while they detest him.” (Reported by Abu Dawud and others)
According to Imam Khattabi, the most obvious meaning of this Hadith is intended for a person who imposes himself as an Imam when he does not possess the necessary qualifications.”