Aslaam-o-alaykum ya Shaikh. I have only one masjid close to my house and the the only other masjid is 15 miles away. Recently I have stopped going to this masjid because some of the actions of imam of the masjid. He routinely misses his fajr prayers and would only come once or twice a week. On other salahs he comes to to masjid at the very last second (not last minute!) when the musalis are looking around to see who is going to volunteer to lead the salah. He even misses some of the other daytime salahs too. The salah itself he does it quickly by reciting the shortest suras or ayahs. The masjid administration is very lax about his behavior and when upon my urging they asked him about it, he said it is difficult for him to wake up in the morning, and he comes at the last moment because as an imam it is below his dignity to come earlier. The masjid admin members rarely come to the masjid themselves so they really don't care about it. I have become so disgusted with this imam's hypocratic behavior that i feel that it is now a hypocrisy on my part to attend prayers behind him. To put it simply I hate him for the sake of Allah because he has belittled the mansab of imamah and ibbadah. Please advise me what should I do keeping in view that I have no other masjid to go to. I have tried my best to put my feelings in words but I feel myself that I have not been able to convey it properly to you. May Allah Subhana wa taala help me. JazakAllah khair. Bashir Malik Newyork USA

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.

The scholars have differed in opinion regarding the obligation of performing the congregational prayer in the Masjid; their views are discussed in Fatwa 82538, so please refer to it.

Even if it is said that it is not an obligation to pray congregational prayers in the Masjid and you are allowed to perform them at home, we still advise you to perform them in the Masjid, as 'Ubayy ibn Ka’b narrated: “The Prophet once led us in the Fajr prayer and said: "Is so and so present?” They replied: “No.” He [the Prophet ] again asked: “Is so and so present (mentioning the name of another person)?” They replied: “No.” Thereupon, the Prophet said: “These two prayers (meaning the Fajr and ‘Ishaa’ prayers) are the most burdensome for the hypocrites. If you knew the blessings and reward that is in them, you would come to them even if crawling (on your knees). And the virtue of the first row is like that of the row of the angels (i.e. it is so near to Allaah or that its reward is the same like that of the angels). If you knew its virtue, you would compete for it. A man's prayer with another man has a reward greater than his prayer alone. And a man's prayer with two other men has a reward greater than his prayer with one other man; the more people there are, the more beloved it is to Allaah, The Mighty and Sublime." [Ahmad and Abu Daawood - Al-Albaani graded it Hasan (good)]

Moreover, Abu Ad-Dardaa’ narrated that he heard the Prophet saying: “Any three people living in a village or in the desert who do not make Athaan nor establish the prayer will be overwhelmed by Satan, so you have to establish congregational prayers, as the wolf eats only the sheep that strays from the herd." [Ahmad, An-Nasaa'i, and Abu Daawood - Al-Albaani graded it Hasan]

With regard to praying behind this Imaam, there is nothing wrong with that as we clarified in Fatwa 105340.

On the other hand, we advise you not to transgress and accuse people of hypocrisy; you do not know whether or not that Imaam has a sound reason which you are not aware of. For more benefit, please refer to Fatwa 86428.

Rather, we advise you to pray for him and advise him, as advice is the best way to rid the heart of rancor. 'Abdullaah ibn Mas’ood narrated that the Prophet said: "…Three things protect the heart of a Muslim against rancor: devoting deeds to Allaah alone, giving advice to the Imaams of the Muslims, and allying with the body of Muslims, as the prayers of the individuals reach the entire body of Muslims.” [Ahmad and At-Tirmithi - Al-Albaani classified it as Saheeh (sound)]

Also, you may show him Fatwa 87002 about the obligations of the Imaam toward the Masjid.

As for his statement that as an Imaam it is below his dignity to come earlier, then it might mean that it is desirable for him to come at the time of Iqaamah, and there is nothing wrong with this.

Concerning the Imaam staying home after the Athaan until the Iqaamah, Ibn Baaz states in his Fataawa:

“Question: If the Imaam of the Masjid is waiting home and does not come to the Masjid until the Iqaamah is called, and he is not busy in his home with supererogatory prayers or the recitation of the Quran, then is it better for him to come early to the Masjid before the Iqaamah?

Answer: …In brief, it is better for the Imaam to be in his home until the time of the Iqaamah comes so as to follow the example of the Prophet and if there is anything that necessitates his presence in the Masjid, and there is more advantage in going there than in staying home, then as far as I know, there is no harm in this; rather, the Imaam should seek that which is more advantageous and beneficial for the Muslims.” [End of quote]

However, since the Imaam in question often comes late, then he should be advised to come early and you should continue to advise him hoping that Allaah will guide him to do so.

Allaah Knows best.