How much higher than the followers the imam may stand

Question

Besides the inner part of the mosque, there is a veranda outside, and after it the courtyard. The courtyard is slightly lower than the veranda: the floor of the mosque [in the courtyard] is six or seven inches lower. May the imam lead the prayer standing on the veranda or not? There is no mihrab on the veranda, only two iron pillars. May the imam stand between them or not? Is leading the prayer in an archway valid or not? How high may the imam be?

Answer

This much height does not prevent either the leading of the prayer or the validity of the prayer. If the imam leads the prayer standing in the mihrab, the jurists have written that this is makruh. If he leads it between two pillars or in an archway, some [scholars] have forbidden this as well.

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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