Is the prayer valid if there is a wall between the imam and the congregation that follows him? What are the reasons that prevent following an imam?

While performing eid prayer, some of the congregation remains outside the mosque; sometimes distances of five to ten meters form between ranks. Some of the congregation performs the prayer on a high place while others perform on a low place. They sometimes close the doors of the mosque because it is cold and the connection of the congregation outside the mosque is cut off except the sound coming from the loudspeakers. What is the right form of it?

Dear Brother / Sister,

In a prayer with congregation, the imam and the congregation must be in the same place really or virtually. In the buildings apart from mosques, this unity is ensured when ranks are close to each other.

The area around a mosque is close to the mosque; the places between which there is no road are also regarded as mosques. Therefore, it is permissible to follow the imam from those places.

Is the prayer valid if there is a wall between the imam and the congregation that follows him?

If there is a wall between the imam and the congregation and if the congregation cannot reach the imam by passing the wall when they want, it is not permissible to follow the imam even if they can hear the takbirs of the imam. Thus, a person who wants to follow the imam from his house must take into consideration the barriers like the road and river between his house and the mosque and the wall that is mentioned in the question and similar things. (az-Zahira / Burhanuddin Mahmud b. Tajuddin)

However, if the wall is small and if it does not prevent the congregation from reaching the imam when they want, or if there is a small hole on the wall though not a door or a window from which the takbirs of the imam are heard easily or the imam can be seen, it is permissible to follow the imam. (al-Muhit / Sarakhsi)

Is it permissible to follow the imam if there is a closed door between the imam and the congregation?

There are different views regarding the issue but according to the soundest view, the door is used to enter and to keep in touch; therefore, it is permissible to follow the imam even if the door is kept closed. (al-Muhit / Sarakhsi)

Is it permissible to follow the imam by being away from the imam in big mosques?

Is it permissible to follow the imam in big mosques by standing at the back even if there are no ranks between (Sharhu Tahawi) However, it is makruh because it is sunnah not to leave any gaps between ranks.

If a person goes up to the roof of his house and follows the imam, his prayer is not valid even if he can hear the takbirs of the imam and sees him; however, if he is on the wall of the yard of the mosque, it is valid. (Fatawayi Qadihan - al-Khulasa - al-Muhit / Sarakhsi)

If a person stands on the wall between his house and the mosque, hears the takbirs of the imam or sees his movements, it is permissible for him to follow the imam. If he wants to follow the imam on the shop outside the mosque, if the shop is adjacent to the mosque and if the ranks follow one another without any gap, it is permissible for him to follow the imam. (Fatawa al-Hindiyya)

If the shop is not adjacent to the mosque, or if the takbirs of the imam are not heard from there, or if the imam is not seen or if there is a distance between the ranks and the shop, it is not permissible for him to follow the imam.

What are the reasons that prevent following an imam?

It is not possible to follow the imam in all places. The fiqh of Islam imposed some criteria and principles for it to become valid. There are deep and meaningful wisdoms behind following and imam and performing prayers in congregation. It is regarded as sunnah al-muakkadah but there are some scholars who say it is wajib.

There are generally three reasons that prevent following an imam:

1. A public road from which cars and similar vehicles pass between the imam and the congregation. (Sharhu Tahawi)

According to this definition, if the road is narrow and if cars and similar things do not pass, it is not regarded as drawback to following the imam. For, there is nothing that will disturb the peace of the prayer and that will eliminate the purpose of the congregation by entering between the imam and the congregation in that case. (Fatawayi Qadihan - al-Khulasa)

However, if the congregation covers the road and does not leave any gaps, it is permissible to follow the imam even if the road is wide. 

If the imam stands on a public road to lead a prayer and the congregation behind him stands on the road horizontally, it is not permissible to follow the imam if there is a distance wide enough for a car to pass between the imam and the congregation. The same thing is valid for the distance between the first rank and the second rank, the second rank and the third rank, so on. Otherwise, it is not permissible to follow the imam. (al-Muhit / Radiyuddin Sarakhsi - Fatawayi Qadihan)

In the countryside and in open areas, the distance that prevents following the imam is a distance that is wide enough for two ranks (saffs). In that case, it is not permissible to follow the imam in open areas, in the countryside, desert and meadow if there is such a big distance between the imam and the congregation.

However, in open areas where eid prayers are performed, such a distance does not prevent following the imam.

There are different views about the places where janazah prayers are performed. In an-Nawazil, it is stated that such places of prayer are regarded as mosques. For, those places are allocated for janazah or eid prayers. In that case, they are regarded as mosques in a way.

2. The existence of a river in between.

What is meant by a river is a flow of water that can be passed over a bridge, by a boat or a horse carriage. (Sharhu Tahawi) In that case, if there is such a big river between the imam and the congregation and if boats, etc. pass through it, it is not permissible to follow the imam. However, if it is small and if boats, etc. do not pass, it is permissible to follow the imam. This is the preferred view. It is stated in Jawahir al-Akhlati that this view is sound. (Fatawa al-Hindiyya)

If such a big river passes through a big mosque, it is permissible to follow the imam. (Fatawayi Qadihan)

If there is a big bridge on that big river and if the ranks fill the bridge by covering the distance between the imam and the congregation, it is not regarded as a drawback; it is permissible to follow the imam.

Is it permissible to follow the imam if there is a big pond between the imam and the congregation?

If the pond is too big for an impurity that falls into one end of the pond to reach the other hand, that is, if the other end of the pond does not move when one end is shaken, it is not permissible to follow the imam; if not, it is permissible. (al-Muhit / Sarakhsi)

Is it permissible to follow the imam in a prayer that is broadcast live on the radio or television?

Islam imposed some conditions and principles to follow the imam in a prayer. There must not be a public road from big enough for cars to pass or a big river. There must not be a distance big enough for three ranks in an open area.  

In that case, it is not permissible to follow the imam who is leading a prayer in Egypt or Saudi Arabia through the radio or television. For, those conditions are not fulfilled.

Similarly, can a person whose house is near the mosque and can hear the takbirs of the imam or the muezzin who repeats them follow the imam from the place where he lives? The answer to that question is clear:

It is not permissible to follow the imam if there is a wide road or a big river in between. If there is no such barrier, if the house is adjacent to the mosque and if there is nothing else that prevents following an imam (like not hearing the takbirs of the imam due to a high wall in between), it is permissible for him to follow the imam. However, it is more virtuous for him to go to the mosque and follow the imam there in terms of the spirit of the congregation. (al-Muhit - Fatawa al-Hindiyya)

3. The existence of a full rank consisting of women in the middle 

If there is a full rank consisting of women behind the imam, it is not permissible for men to follow the imam by forming ranks behind the women. (Sharhu Tahawi) If they follow the imam like that in a prayer, the prayer of all of the men become invalidated.

If the women in the middle do not form a full rank, the prayer of all of the men in the ranks behind do not become invalidated.

If there are men in the high place at the back of the mosque or on the balcony of the mosque and if there is a rank consisting of women in front of and below them, the prayer of those men is not valid. If there are a few women, the decree of muhadhat (men and women being on the same line and level) is valid.   

For instance, if there are three women, the prayer of three men exactly behind them in the ranks behind them becomes invalidated. If the women form a whole rank, the prayer of all of the men becomes invalidated.

However, if the women who are below are on the same line as the men on the balcony or at the high back part of the mosque, the prayer of the men is valid. For, the height between them prevents them from being on the same level. (Fatawayi Qadihan)

If the opposite is valid, that is, if the women are at the back of the high place in the mosque and on the balcony and if the men are below on the same line and behind them, the prayer of the men is valid because the women form a rank upstairs and without being seen; the height between them prevents muhadhat in a way. (Fatawa al-Hindiyya)

(see Celal Yıldırım, Kaynaklarıyla İslam Fıkhı, Uysal Publications: 1/303-308)

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