Contiguity of Rows for Following the Imam

Question

(1) If it is raining and the followers cannot stand in the courtyard of the mosque, and next to the courtyard there is another adjoining building, higher or lower, and [a person] stands there and prays following the imam of the mosque, is this valid or not, given that because of the rain the rows are not contiguous? (2) The imam is leading the prayer in the mosque and the follower is at the very far end of the mosque: is following the imam (iqtida’) valid or not?

Answer

(1) If that mosque is a small mosque (masjid saghir), there is no gap the size of two rows between that building and the mosque, and there is no uncertainty about the imam’s movements and states, but rather [the follower] keeps knowing them, whether by the imam’s voice or by the voice of the mukabbir, then the iqtida’ is valid. But if the mosque is a large mosque (masjid kabir)

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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