Comparing the position of the ma'mum to the right of the imam at a distance versus to his left at a closer distance
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Question:
He says: Honorable Shaykh, may Allah grant you success, which is better: for the ma'mum to be to the right of the imam at a distance, or to his left at a closer distance? Which is better in this regard?
Answer:
Being closer is better, because he hears the imam and sees him, whereas the one who is far away may not see him or may not hear him if there is no loudspeaker. The scholars say that if the virtue returns to the act of worship itself, it takes precedence over the virtue that returns to the place of worship.
He says: Honorable Shaykh, may Allah grant you success, which is better: for the ma'mum to be to the right of the imam at a distance, or to his left at a closer distance? Which is better in this regard?
Answer:
Being closer is better, because he hears the imam and sees him, whereas the one who is far away may not see him or may not hear him if there is no loudspeaker. The scholars say that if the virtue returns to the act of worship itself, it takes precedence over the virtue that returns to the place of worship.
Source
مختصر زاد المعاد (للإمام محمد بن عبدالوهاب)، مختصر زاد المعاد [1] — alfawzan.live (1:16:57)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.