What is the ruling on the prayer of one who prays in front of the Imam or ahead of him, and the ruling on one who leaves a large space in front of him and prays at the back of the mosque or on the upper floor while there are empty spaces downstairs behind the Imam?

There are two cases for someone who leaves a large gap between themselves and the front rows:

The first is that they are praying alone, and the ruling on an individual praying behind the row is mentioned in Fatwa no. 37144.

The second is that they are not praying alone, and others join them. In this case, their prayer is valid, but they have acted contrary to the Sunnah. Some scholars have strongly condemned those who do this intentionally.

Ibn Taymiyyah said: "Whoever comes first and lines up in a row other than the first has contravened the Sharia."

Al-Nawawi said: "Our companions and others have agreed on the desirability of the first row and encouraging it, and on the desirability of the Imam's right side, and filling the gaps in the rows, and completing the first row, then the one after it, until the end. One should not start a new row until the one before it is complete."

This applies equally to those who line up on the ground floor or the upper floor inside the mosque. As for someone who prays separately from the rows outside the mosque without an excuse, the correct view is that their prayer is not valid.