Question:
If a boy who is around six or seven years old is made the imam and people perform the obligatory prayer behind him, will that prayer be valid? Sometimes this is done to encourage children. Is that permissible?
Answer:
There is actually a clear incident from the time of the Prophetﷺ that addresses this issue. The narration is recorded in Sahih Bukhari (Hadith 4302).
The incident concerns a boy named Amr ibn Salamah(RA). His tribe had accepted Islam. Whenever Muslim travelers passed through their area, the young Amr would meet them and learn Qur’anic verses from them. In this way he memorized a considerable amount of Qur’an even as a child.
Later, the Prophetﷺ instructed that the one who knows the Qur’an the most should lead the prayer.
When the people of the tribe heard this instruction, they gathered and discussed who among them knew the most Qur’an. They began asking each other: “How many surahs do you know?” One would say he knew one surah, another would say he knew two.
But when they asked Amr ibn Salamah, it turned out that this young boy—who was only about six or seven years old—knew more Qur’an than the others. Because of this, they appointed him as their imam.
He himself narrates that he used to lead them in prayer.
At that time, he did not even have sufficient clothing; he had only a small garment. When he went into prostration, part of his body became visible, and the women standing behind complained that the boy’s clothing was not covering him properly. So the people later bought him a proper garment.
This narration shows clearly that a young boy, about six or seven years old, led the prayer, and the people prayed behind him. The reason was that he had memorized more Qur’an than the others.
From this incident we understand that such a practice is permissible in Islam. Therefore, appointing a knowledgeable child as imam in order to encourage him is not wrong.