Discussion of the place of women’s prayer in the mosque and the ruling on their praying in the upper or lower part of the mosque.

The Shaykh : ... , As for what follows:
Indeed, the best of speech is the speech of Allah, and the best of guidance is the guidance of Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), and the worst of matters are their innovations, and every innovation is a religious innovation, and every religious innovation is misguidance, and every misguidance is in the Fire. And after that:
In some mosques, women pray in the basement of the mosque or in an upper floor of the mosque. We women sometimes pray in these mosques following the imam, even though we do not see the imam or the followers, and sometimes the men’s prayer area in the mosque has a large empty space. Is our prayer valid if we do not see the imam or any of the followers? Knowing that sometimes we enter the mosque without knowing which rak'ah he is in? Is it permissible in this case to follow only the sound amplifier? Is it valid for us to follow the imam while we are on the upper or lower floor, knowing that the mosque sometimes has ample space?
The answer is in two parts:
The first part: The prayer, in this state, is valid as long as the women are praying in the mosque, whether in the upper or lower section, as long as they hear the takbirs of transition from the imam from standing to bowing to prostration.
As for the other part; it is not befitting for women to pray this prayer unless the men’s area is crowded with worshippers, so that they do not find a place for them in the back of the rows. In this case, it is permissible for them to pray as they mentioned earlier in the upper section of the mosque or the lower one. However, if there is empty space in the mosque where the imam and the men behind him are praying, it is not permissible for women to go up to the upper section, or to go down to the lower section such that they do not see the movements of the imam or the movements of those following him. The reason for this goes back to two matters:
The first matter is that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), when he said: , he meant only the ground where the Prophet and his Companions behind him used to pray, and not women in an upper or lower section. The secret in this is that the sound amplifier may sometimes be faint, and may sometimes malfunction; thus, the prayer of the followers in the upper or lower section, from which they do not see the prayer of the men behind the imam, is exposed to invalidity.
So the summary of this answer is: that the prayer in the upper or lower section is valid, but it is not permissible for them to intentionally pray in that place if there is space in the men’s prayer area such that women can pray in its back.
This is the summary of that question.

The questioner : ... .

The Shaykh: ... Of course.