[Andrew1978]

I have always heard from ulama that in the event one prays behind an imam who is a fasiq, the prayer of the best of those in the jama`ah replaces his as representative of the entire jama`ah.

But of course praying fardh (obligatory) prayers in jama`ah, group prayer, is the way of the Prophet
According to sahih hadith, praying `isha in jama`ah is the equivalent of praying half the night in prayer. So praying the night prayer in group is the best way even if there is a fasiq leading, but thereafter, tarawih prayer is not obligatory nor is praying behind a fasiq.


Perhaps the shaykh was instructing listeners to avoid certain specific imams in the area who he addressed by this feature rather than by name.

Allah knows best.

In the Hanafi madhhab, the imam's salah is what affects everyone. If the imam is known to trim his beard to less than a fist length, then the salah of the entire congregation is negatively affected since this person is considered a faasiq. As far as fardh salah is concerned, we are permitted to pray behind such an imam if there is no alternative. Maybe since only Taraweeh is being mentioned, Mufti Taqi DB probably means that the karaha of an imam leading salah is greater than the significance of Taraweeh with jamaat. In essence, the karaha of the trimmed beard is not great enough to supersede the obligation of fardh salah with jamaat but it is big enough to override the recommendation of Taraweeh with jamaat.

Again, this is all speculation until we can confirm if what the brother said earlier is true about Mufti Taqi DB's opinion.