Is seeing the imam a condition for the validity of the imamah?

Question:
May Allah reward you and bless you. This is a woman asking: “Shaykh, how does a woman pray with the imam if she cannot see the imam or the people praying behind him? For example, if she enters the mosque during a quiet prayer and the imam has already finished the first rak’ah, she does not know whether he is in prostration or bowing.”

Answer:
If the woman or the worshipper, whether male or female, is inside the mosque, it is sufficient for her to hear the takbir and follow the imam, even if she does not see him or the people behind him, provided she hears the takbir while inside the mosque. And today, praise be to Allah, hearing the takbir is facilitated by means of loudspeakers. So she hears the takbir and prays behind the imam, even if she does not see him or the people behind him. Seeing him or seeing the people behind him is only a condition if she is outside the mosque. Yes.