Is it permissible for the imam to be elevated above the ma'mum?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : Is there originally a prohibition against the imam being elevated above the ma'mum?
The Shaykh : Of course.
The questioner : So when they open this door next to it, they want to see the ma'mum who are below.
The Shaykh : Below.
The questioner : Below. If he wants to perform the prayer in the correct manner, he should be below and they should be above.
The Shaykh : This is a separate issue, whether the door is opened or not. This is a separate issue, correct or not?
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Okay, ... we say yes, the original rule is that the imam prays below, but we do not know if there is a dire necessity or not? If there is no dire necessity, the situation is reversed: the imam prays below and the congregation is above, if the lower area is too narrow for them.
But what I imagine is that in some mosques—I imagine it was like this in Lebanon—that the upper section is wider than the lower one, so the imam is forced to pray above and deliver the khutbah above, and the lower section serves as a backup rather than the main area, because it is either narrow or misaligned, lacking proper alignment with the qiblah. In summary, as you know, the original rule is that the imam should not be higher than the ma'mum except out of dire necessity. This is a principle that the imam of the mosque should study so that he does not fall into violation.
The questioner : Like Abu Malik's mosque, meaning ...
The Shaykh : Yes, exactly. Abu Malik's mosque is a good example, yes. Do you know Abu Malik's mosque? It is wide, while the lower part has six rooms. This answer is sufficient, O Abu Raji.
The questioner : No detail ... a little
The Shaykh : A little detail, meaning
The questioner : It became clear ...
The Shaykh : Of course.
The questioner : So when they open this door next to it, they want to see the ma'mum who are below.
The Shaykh : Below.
The questioner : Below. If he wants to perform the prayer in the correct manner, he should be below and they should be above.
The Shaykh : This is a separate issue, whether the door is opened or not. This is a separate issue, correct or not?
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Okay, ... we say yes, the original rule is that the imam prays below, but we do not know if there is a dire necessity or not? If there is no dire necessity, the situation is reversed: the imam prays below and the congregation is above, if the lower area is too narrow for them.
But what I imagine is that in some mosques—I imagine it was like this in Lebanon—that the upper section is wider than the lower one, so the imam is forced to pray above and deliver the khutbah above, and the lower section serves as a backup rather than the main area, because it is either narrow or misaligned, lacking proper alignment with the qiblah. In summary, as you know, the original rule is that the imam should not be higher than the ma'mum except out of dire necessity. This is a principle that the imam of the mosque should study so that he does not fall into violation.
The questioner : Like Abu Malik's mosque, meaning ...
The Shaykh : Yes, exactly. Abu Malik's mosque is a good example, yes. Do you know Abu Malik's mosque? It is wide, while the lower part has six rooms. This answer is sufficient, O Abu Raji.
The questioner : No detail ... a little
The Shaykh : A little detail, meaning
The questioner : It became clear ...
Source
www.al-albany.com
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.