Generally Imam is the person who leads the prayers in a Masjid but leading the prayers is not his only job rather this role is the last in the order of hierarchy. Quoting Allamah Iqbal (RA), he says:

Sabq phir phar sadaqat ka, adalat ka, shaja’at ka,
Liya jaye ga tuj sey kaam duniya ki imamat ka...

So, keeping this couplet in consideration, the real job of the Imam is to lead us in all our affairs, be they the affairs of our religion or the affairs of our ‘duniya’, the mundane affairs which comprise all our affairs from our birth to our death. But unfortunately the Imams of our times are there to lead us in our prayers only that too one Imam of a sect can’t lead the prayers of the other sect. The Imamat (leading in all spheres) has been shrinking to the Imamat in Masjid only. This role is the least role an imam has to play but unfortunately due to so many known reasons, the imams of our society are not even fit for to lead us in our prayers. The biggest reason is that despite their primary role to bind us together, it is they who are playing a key role to divide us on some petty issue either due to their least exposure both to the basic Islamic texts and literature, and the outside world or due to their shear ignorance or for their petty needs because they believe the Masjids in their ‘control’ are the shops from which they earn their bread and butter. The harsh reality of our times is that they can’t tolerate to see any other person who disagrees with their religious perspective on solid grounds, to use his pulpit from which he quite often spits out venom which he perceives the honey because of the already mentions reasons just above.
Had they been well versed with the Islamic history, the primary texts of the Quran and the Sunnah of the Prophet, they would have already mend their ways for the common betterment of the Ummah which needs to be united during these turbulent times when every opportunity is being grabbed by the ‘enemy’ to see us divided on these petty issue for their vested interest in order to rule us again for the centuries to come as happened in the past as well.
There are scores of Hadith (the traditions of the Prophet) which count the qualities of an Imam, the primary being: most knowledgeable, pious, sober, married, living in the vicinity (the last one is debatable) are some of the qualities which make a person worthy to lead us in the prayers but unfortunately in our part of the world, such standards are being bypassed and some superfluous traits like the length of beard, the positions of pyjamas (trouser) above the ankles, the topi (head cap), the turbans, the dress they put on etc. are being given undue weightage unfortunately. And the apathy is that our society has owned rather patronised these superfluous traits which are secondary, keeping in view the true injunctions of the Quran and the Sunnah.
Knowledgeable does not mean that a person must be well versed in the Quran and the Sunnah only rather he must be the man of letters in true sense. On the one hand, he must be well acquainted with the primary texts of Islam while on the other he must have sufficient knowledge of Islamic history down the lanes, well versed with modern ideologies not only in the Muslim World rather in the non Muslim world as well, have sound knowhow of modern trends and challenges in the world, have gone through, if not all, at least some philosophies which have shaped the present day world order, have a good command over Islamic economy, polity, sociology, spirituality, morality etc.
Only then the Imams will have a proper and balanced relevance because they have to address the modern minds which are brought up in the age of science and technology where artificial intelligence has taken a front row. In such times, the routine Imams, who have some basic knowhow of tajwid (proper recitation of Arabic), memorized some chapters of the Quran and scores of Traditions of the Prophet (SAW), know some superfluous issues of Islam and issue ‘verdicts’ and have a knowhow to some extent and have the art of preaching, giving undue stress to their vocal chords etc. have least relevance, honestly.
I, with folded hands, request these Imams to either mend their behaviour for the betterment of the community or to leave the pulpits open so that the society will seek the people who are fit for the job in the true sense. Also the society needs to rethink rather introspect whether it should have the “dou raka’at ke Imam” or the Imams who can shape its future generations according to the basic teachings of the Quran and the Sunnah, blending revelation and reason, spirituality and science, tradition and modernity, to lead us on all the fronts...

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