Section: If there are two men, neither of whom knows al-Fatihah, and one of them knows seven verses from elsewhere while the other does not know any of that, then they are both unlettered (ummi); it is permissible for each of them to follow the other in prayer. It is recommended that the one who knows the verses leads the prayer because he is more proficient in recitation. Based on this, everyone who does not know al-Fatihah may lead in prayer one who does not know it, whether they are equal in ignorance or differ in it.

Section: It is disliked (makruh) for someone with a minor grammatical error (lahn) that does not alter the meaning to lead the prayer, as explicitly stated by Ahmad. His prayer is valid for those who do not commit such errors because he has fulfilled the obligation of recitation. If he alters the meaning in a part other than al-Fatihah, it does not prevent the validity of his prayer or the validity of following him, unless he does so intentionally, in which case the prayer of both is invalidated.

Section: As for someone who cannot articulate certain letters clearly, such as the dad and the qaf, al-Qadi said: It is disliked for him to lead the prayer, but it is valid, whether he is a non-Arab or an Arab. It is said regarding one who reads "wa la al-dallin" with a za': His prayer is not valid because he alters the meaning; it is said: "zalla" he continued to do such-and-such: if he did it during the day. His ruling is that of the one with a lisp (althagh). It is disliked for a tamtam—one who repeats the 'ta'—and a fa'fa'—one who repeats the 'fa'—to lead the prayer. However, the prayer behind them is valid because they bring the letters to completion and add an excess they are overcome by, so it is pardoned, though it is disliked to put them forward for leadership due to this addition.

254 - Issue: He said: (And if he prays behind an idolater, a woman, or a hermaphrodite (khuntha mushkil), he must repeat the prayer.)

The summary of this is that the prayer behind an unbeliever (kafir) is not valid under any circumstances, whether he discovers his disbelief after finishing the prayer or before that; upon the one who prayed behind him is the obligation to repeat it. This is the view of al-Shafi'i and the scholars of the school of opinion (Ashab al-Ra'y). Abu Thawr and al-Muzani said: There is no repetition upon the one who prayed behind him if he did not know, because he followed someone whose condition he did not know, similar to if he had followed someone in a state of ritual impurity (hadath). Our evidence is that he followed one who is not among the people of prayer, so his prayer is not valid, just as if he had followed a madman. As for the one in a state of ritual impurity, it is a condition that he does not know his own impurity, whereas the unbeliever knows his own state. As for the woman, it is not valid for a man to follow her in prayer under any circumstances, whether in an obligatory or supererogatory prayer, according to the general body of jurists. Abu Thawr said: There is no repetition upon one who prayed behind her, which is the analogy of al-Muzani's statement. Some of our companions said: It is permissible for her to lead men in the Tarawih prayer, and she should stand behind them; due to what was narrated from Umm Waraqah bint Abd Allah ibn al-Harith, that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) assigned for her a muezzin who would call the adhan for her, and he commanded her to lead the people of her household in prayer. Narrated by Abu Dawud. This is general for men and women. Our evidence is the statement of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him): "A woman must not lead a man in prayer," and because she does not call the adhan for men, it was not permitted for her to lead them, like the madman. The hadith of Umm Waraqah only permitted her to lead the women of her household; this is how it was narrated by al-Daraqutni. This is an addition that must be accepted, and if it had not been mentioned, the report would have been interpreted that way; because he permitted her to lead in the obligatory prayers, as evidenced by the fact that he assigned her a muezzin, and the adhan was only legislated for the obligatory prayers. There is no disagreement that she may not lead them in the obligatory prayers, and because restricting that to Tarawih and stipulating her standing behind them is an arbitrary judgment that contradicts the fundamental principles without evidence, so it is not permissible to resort to it, and even if we assumed that this was established for Umm Waraqah, it would be specific to her.