What is the ruling on a follower who stands to the right of the imam because there is no space in the row?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : Shaykh, may Allah reward you: What is the ruling on a follower who did not find a place in the row and stood to the right of the imam? What is the ruling on his prayer? And if something happens to the imam, is it permissible for him to lead the people in prayer, as happened yesterday in the 'Isha' prayer?
The Shaykh : The Sunnah is for the imam to stand ahead of the followers if there are two or more, and it is not permissible for anyone to stand beside the imam except in cases of extreme necessity, such as if the mosque is full and a person finds no place except beside the imam, in which case there is no harm. If there are two people and they need to stand beside the imam, let one be on the right and the other on the left.
The Shaykh : The Sunnah is for the imam to stand ahead of the followers if there are two or more, and it is not permissible for anyone to stand beside the imam except in cases of extreme necessity, such as if the mosque is full and a person finds no place except beside the imam, in which case there is no harm. If there are two people and they need to stand beside the imam, let one be on the right and the other on the left.