Even if the imam leading the people from among the subjects has not taken permission from the chief imam. Imam Abu Bakr, may Allah have mercy on him, says that the evidence for this issue is the hadith of Sayyiduna Mughira bin Shu’bah, may Allah be pleased with him, narrated regarding the leadership of Sayyiduna Abdur Rahman bin Awf, may Allah be pleased with him.

Sayyiduna Mughira bin Shu’bah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that he participated in the Battle of Tabuk in the company of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). Sayyiduna Mughira (may Allah be pleased with him) says: I came with him until we saw that the people had put Sayyiduna Abdur Rahman bin Awf (may Allah be pleased with him) forward and he was leading them in prayer. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) caught one rak’ah and performed the last rak’ah with the people. Then, when Sayyiduna Abdur Rahman (may Allah be pleased with him) finished the prayer with salam, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) stood up to complete his prayer. This caused the Muslims to become anxious and they began to say“Subhan Allah”repeatedly. When the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) completed his prayer, he turned towards them and then said:“You have done a very good deed,”or he said:“You have done the correct thing.”He was expressing admiration for them because they had performed the prayer at its proper time.

Imam Abu Bakr (may Allah have mercy on him) says: In this hadith is evidence that when the time for prayer comes and the chief imam is not present among the people, or he is left behind on a journey, then it is permissible for the congregation to appoint someone as their imam to lead them in prayer. This is because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) approved of the action of the noble companions (may Allah be pleased with them) or declared it correct, as they had put Sayyiduna Abdur Rahman bin Awf (may Allah be pleased with him) forward for imamah and performed the prayer at its proper time. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did not order them to wait for him. However, when the chief imam is present, then it is not permissible for anyone to lead the prayer without his permission, because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade leading the prayer without the permission of the ruler or leader.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Mas’ud Ansari (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:“Do not lead a person in prayer in his own domain of authority and in his house, nor sit on his special seat except with his permission.”Or he said:“Unless he gives you permission.”