Is it permissible for the worshippers to line up to the left of the imam if the mosque is crowded with worshippers?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Question:
He says: Honorable Shaykh, may Allah grant you success, we are a group who pray in a prayer hall that is crowded with worshippers. A row forms to the right of the imam, and there is no space left. Is it permissible for us to line up to the left of the imam? Knowing that the worshippers may miss the congregation due to the crowd, is it permissible for them to line up on the left?
Answer:
Yes, if there are people behind the imam, it is permissible to line up to his right and to his left; there is nothing wrong with it. Yes.
He says: Honorable Shaykh, may Allah grant you success, we are a group who pray in a prayer hall that is crowded with worshippers. A row forms to the right of the imam, and there is no space left. Is it permissible for us to line up to the left of the imam? Knowing that the worshippers may miss the congregation due to the crowd, is it permissible for them to line up on the left?
Answer:
Yes, if there are people behind the imam, it is permissible to line up to his right and to his left; there is nothing wrong with it. Yes.
Source
قناة «العلامة الدكتور صالح الفوزان»، [61 -1024] هل يجوز أن يصف المصلون عن يسار الإمام إذا ضاق المسجد بالمصلين؟ - الشيخ صالح الفوزان — youtube.com
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.