The Shaykh’s note on opening a window to the right or left of the imam so that those on the lower floor can hear his voice in case of a power outage.
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Before we delve into this, if delving into it is necessary, I want to return to the previous issue with a solution.
In fact, at Al-Ibrar Mosque, I saw that they had opened a window. It appears to be the Al-Ibrar Mosque located on the way to the Racing Club, which is before Al-Nur Mosque from our location. I see that this is a necessary matter, and the people of the mosque should be advised to do so.
The questioner : By making a window?
The Shaykh : And I will tell you something, because people are in heedlessness. The imam prays in this place—upstairs—so the window is opened beside him. This way, if the loudspeaker fails, the voice can leak down to the lower level. I say beside him because if it is opened as some people do without planning, they might open it here, which would cause the row to be broken. But when it is opened to the right of the imam or to his left, it does not cause the row to be broken, because the space beside the imam is usually empty on both the right and left. This is an important observation.
The second observation, from an engineering perspective: the position of the building must be considered. Sometimes the building may be slanted, such that the sound reflects downward more in this direction than in that direction, or it may be the opposite. Therefore, we do not absolutely open the right or left side, but rather we consider the position of the wall and the qiblah. The side that helps the sound leak into this opening more is the one where this window should be opened. Is that clear?
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : And this is very necessary so that what you asked about does not happen.
The questioner : In the first place, there is a prohibition against the imam being elevated above the ma'mum.
In fact, at Al-Ibrar Mosque, I saw that they had opened a window. It appears to be the Al-Ibrar Mosque located on the way to the Racing Club, which is before Al-Nur Mosque from our location. I see that this is a necessary matter, and the people of the mosque should be advised to do so.
The questioner : By making a window?
The Shaykh : And I will tell you something, because people are in heedlessness. The imam prays in this place—upstairs—so the window is opened beside him. This way, if the loudspeaker fails, the voice can leak down to the lower level. I say beside him because if it is opened as some people do without planning, they might open it here, which would cause the row to be broken. But when it is opened to the right of the imam or to his left, it does not cause the row to be broken, because the space beside the imam is usually empty on both the right and left. This is an important observation.
The second observation, from an engineering perspective: the position of the building must be considered. Sometimes the building may be slanted, such that the sound reflects downward more in this direction than in that direction, or it may be the opposite. Therefore, we do not absolutely open the right or left side, but rather we consider the position of the wall and the qiblah. The side that helps the sound leak into this opening more is the one where this window should be opened. Is that clear?
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : And this is very necessary so that what you asked about does not happen.
The questioner : In the first place, there is a prohibition against the imam being elevated above the ma'mum.
Source
www.al-albany.com
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.