What is the ruling for the Imam whose ritual purity (hadath) broke during prayer?
Chapter on Praying with Impurity and Other Matters
Al-Mughni
Book of Prayer
Primary text
The prayer of the Imam whose ritual purity was broken is invalidated, and he is obligated to restart it (musta'nif). This view is supported by Ahmad, al-Hasan, 'Ata', al-Nakha'i, and Mak'hul, where Ahmad favors washing (wudu') and restarting the prayer. This is supported by the narration from 'Aishah that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: 'Whoever vomits, or has a nosebleed during his prayer, let him withdraw, perform wudu', and continue with what he has completed of his prayer.' However, the sounder opinion is that he must restart the prayer entirely, based on the hadith from 'Ali ibn Talq stating that whoever farts (fasa) during prayer should withdraw, perform wudu', and repeat his prayer. Furthermore, if the impurity requires a significant time or effort to rectify, the prayer is invalidated, analogous to situations where impurity necessitates prolonged cleansing or uncovering of the 'awrah without an immediate covering.
Supporting text
A narration from Ahmad suggests he may simply perform wudu' and build upon the previous part (yabni), which is also reported from Ibn 'Umar and Ibn 'Abbas. Another narration from Ahmad differentiates based on the source of impurity: if it originated from the two passages (al-Sabilayn), the prayer must restart; otherwise, he builds upon it, due to the stricter ruling concerning impurities from the passages.