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Fatwa CenterPraying behind an Imaam who practices magic and commits sins
Question
Assalamu alaikum, Could you please advice as a matter of urgency on our. There are rumours that the Imam practices sihr with jinns. In the past he revealed to a person that he has a jinn with him and can help him with his troubled marriage. But instead of helping him, he visited his wife, while he was away and revealed what the husband told him about his wife and sympathised with her and offered to marry her, if she divorces her husband.
She was shocked to see an imam of a masjid visit her and offering to marry her.She suspected that he was after wealth as he enquired about it also. she revealed his visit to her then husband.
Appearently the imam is also doing sihr on a masjid committee member using jinn and also with a support of a another person who visits a hindu priest and pays him.
The affected persons' relations used a peer/aalim to find out as he kept falling ill. He has differences with the imam as he changed a lot of things in the masjid to help Allah S.W.Ts cause. Things such as new madrassa targets, arranging lectures and also he found out that all madrassa fees are not declared by the imam, who is a also a madrassa teacher.
The imam has been dismissed from 3 other masjids before and this is his 4th masjid and he is known to love money and he has riba, TV in his house.
There is evidence from 2 people regarding the imam also. Could you please tell me how do we go about informing the committee? Is it haram to tell them or is it our duty to disclose an imam who commits sins? Or do we ignore it and keep quiet? Is it haram to pray behind such an imam?
Jazakamullah kahirun
Answer
All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad 
is His slave and Messenger.
It is not permissible to act according to the rumors that may be said about that man unless evidence is proven that he practices magic and that he commits the sins that are attributed to him. If it is confirmed that he practices magic, then it is not permissible to perform the prayer behind him, rather, it becomes an obligation to remove him and appoint another Imaam in his place because magic is Kufr (disbelief).
However, if it is confirmed that he does not practice magic, then in principle he is innocent. But if he commits some sins that do not take him out of the fold of Islam, and it is possible to remove him and appoint another pious Imaam, then this is better, otherwise performing the prayer behind him is better than abandoning the congregational prayer, as stated by the scholars 
. Indeed, Ibn ‘Umar and other companions 
used to perform the prayer behind Al-Hajjaaj; for more benefit, please refer to Fatwa 93587.
Moreover, if it is confirmed that that man tried to spoil the marital relationship between that woman and her husband, then he is extremely wrong. In which case, it is an obligation to advise him and remind him of Allaah about any sin if it is confirmed that he commits it.
Allaah Knows best.
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