What is the ruling on reserving places in the Haram?

Question : The questioner says: Honorable Shaykh, what is the ruling on reserving places in the Haram, where one or two people come with carpets and reserve spots for their brothers who arrive late?

Answer : Some scholars hold that this is permissible, and that it is permissible for a person to reserve a place in the mosque, whether for prayer, a circle of knowledge, or something else, but he must remove the reservation when the prayer begins. Others hold that reserving a place is forbidden, and that it is not permissible for anyone to reserve a place in the mosque for prayer or anything else; rather, whoever arrives first has the greater right to the empty space. This is the correct view, and it is not permissible for a person to reserve a place in the mosque while he is outside the mosque. However, if he is in the mosque and he places a marker in the first row and then goes to another place to be more active in reviewing his lessons or reading, and he comes back when the iqamah is called, there is no harm. And according to this view, which is the view of prohibition:
It should not be made a cause of enmity and hatred between people. That is, you do not remove the reservation, even if the one who made it has committed a forbidden act. You do not remove it for two reasons. The first reason is that the issue is a matter of scholarly disagreement. The second reason is that removing it causes a greater harm than the act of reserving the place itself. Here, we address the one who reserves the place, and we address the others. As for the one who reserves it, we tell him: It is not permissible for you to do this. As for the others, we tell them: Do not remove what has been reserved, because this is a matter of scholarly disagreement, and because it leads to harm, mutual hatred, conflict, and quarreling. Yes. Yes.