A historically cited reason for disfavoring a blind imam concerns practical access to information about purity or direction. This is not an intrinsic religious deficiency. The Prophet ﷺ appointed Ibn Umm Maktum to lead prayer, evidencing the validity of a qualified blind person’s imamate.
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Blind Imam and the Precedent of Ibn Umm Maktum
Congregational Prayer: Its Status, Priority in Leading, and Conduct of the Imam
A historically cited reason for disfavoring a blind imam concerns practical access to information about purity or direction. This is not an intrinsic religious deficiency. The Prophet ﷺ appointed Ibn Umm Maktum to lead prayer, evidencing the validity of a qualified blind person’s imamate.