Which prayer is better, upstairs or downstairs? And does the first row on the upper floor equal the first row on the ground floor? Please inform us.
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : Your Eminence, which prayer is better, upstairs or downstairs? And does the first row upstairs equal the last row? Please inform us. Does the first row on the upper floor equal the first row on the ground floor?
The Shaykh : Praying downstairs is better than praying upstairs because it is closer to the imam, and being close to the imam is better than being far from him. However, if praying in a row is accompanied by the person’s energy, where he feels more energetic and more humble, then that is better. This is because preserving the virtue related to the act of worship itself is more important than preserving the virtue related to its location. What is the rule? What is this rule? Preserving the virtue related to the act of worship itself is more important than preserving the virtue related to its location. This is what the scholars said, and they gave an example of this with running and being close to the Ka'bah. Running during tawaf, the arrival tawaf, or being close to the Ka'bah. That is, if someone said: If I get close to the Ka'bah, I cannot run, but if I stay far from the Ka'bah, I can run, which is better: getting close to the Ka'bah or staying far and running? The scholars say it is better to stay far and run, because the virtue related to the act of worship itself is more deserving of preservation than the virtue related to its location. So if a person feels more energetic for standing in prayer if he prays in the row here, then it is better for him here than praying downstairs. As for the questioner’s statement about whether the first row here equals the first row downstairs, we say: No, it does not equal it. But the first row here equals the row opposite it downstairs, and we know that there are several rows between us and the imam. Yes, that is correct.
The Shaykh : Praying downstairs is better than praying upstairs because it is closer to the imam, and being close to the imam is better than being far from him. However, if praying in a row is accompanied by the person’s energy, where he feels more energetic and more humble, then that is better. This is because preserving the virtue related to the act of worship itself is more important than preserving the virtue related to its location. What is the rule? What is this rule? Preserving the virtue related to the act of worship itself is more important than preserving the virtue related to its location. This is what the scholars said, and they gave an example of this with running and being close to the Ka'bah. Running during tawaf, the arrival tawaf, or being close to the Ka'bah. That is, if someone said: If I get close to the Ka'bah, I cannot run, but if I stay far from the Ka'bah, I can run, which is better: getting close to the Ka'bah or staying far and running? The scholars say it is better to stay far and run, because the virtue related to the act of worship itself is more deserving of preservation than the virtue related to its location. So if a person feels more energetic for standing in prayer if he prays in the row here, then it is better for him here than praying downstairs. As for the questioner’s statement about whether the first row here equals the first row downstairs, we say: No, it does not equal it. But the first row here equals the row opposite it downstairs, and we know that there are several rows between us and the imam. Yes, that is correct.