Hazrat Abu Dharr prayed behind an Abyssinian slave.

Hazrat Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) used to offer prayers under the leadership of her intelligent slave.

Hazrat Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) offered prayer behind her slave as the imam.

Hazrat Abu Saeed, the freed slave of Abi Usaid, says that I was a slave. When I got married, I invited some of the noble companions, among whom were Hazrat Abu Dharr, Hazrat Ibn Mas’ud, and Hazrat Hudhaifah (may Allah be pleased with them). When the time for prayer came, Hazrat Abu Dharr stepped forward, but Hazrat Abdullah bin Mas’ud (may Allah be pleased with him) said to him,“Please step back.”He asked,“Really?”Hazrat Abdullah replied,“Yes.”Then he brought me forward, and despite being a slave, I led them in prayer.

Hazrat Dawood bin Husain says that Hazrat Abu Sufyan was a mukatab (contracted) slave and used to lead the prayers for Banu Abd al-Ashhal. Among them were some companions, such as Muhammad bin Maslamah and Salamah bin Salamah. Once, the people wanted to remove him from the position of imam, so these two gentlemen listened to his recitation and said, "Can someone like him be removed from the position of imam?"

Hasan and Hazrat Ibn Sirin state that there is no harm in the leadership (imamat) of a slave.

Hasan and Ibrahim say that there is no harm in the leadership (imamat) of a slave.

Hazrat Sufyan and Hazrat Aamir state that there is no harm in the leadership (Imamat) of a slave.

Hazrat Laith and Hazrat Shahr state that there is no harm in the leadership (imamat) of a slave, provided that he is the most knowledgeable among them.

Ziyad, the freed slave of Umm al-Hasan, says that I was a slave, but Salim bin Abdullah prayed behind me.