In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful; all praise is for Allah, and may peace and blessing be upon the Messenger of Allah, his family and companions.

May the peace, mercy and blessing be upon you.

To proceed:

In the summertime, it gets really hot inside the mosque, especially at the time of the maghrib (sunset) and the `isha (evening) prayers. I am sure you are well-aware of the severe discomfort this causes for those praying, such that their humble submissiveness (khushoo`) fades, if not vanishes completely for some of them. They stand there thinking nothing from the beginning to the end of the prayer, except, "When will the prayer be over so I can get out of this sweat bath?" Whereas the courtyard of the mosque faces the east, is spacious and shaded and the weather there is not hot; on the contrary, it is beautiful, and there is sometimes a gentle breeze. The people in my village—in fact, those who pray in most of the mosques on our island—pray the Friday congregational prayer (the imam and those praying behind him) outside the mosque. A short while ago, some have begun, without understanding, knowledge, reserve or following the practices of the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), to issue verdicts stating that the prayer performed outside the mosque is invalid. We would appreciate if you could decide for us the verdict of praying outside the mosque, mentioning the irrefutable evidence from the Sunnah of the Prophet (may Allah honor him and grant him peace), the practices of the Rightly-Guided Caliphs, the consensus of the Companions, or the strongest opinions of modern scholars. May Allah grant you the greatest reward for helping us; may He bless you and guide you to the correct opinion; may He increase you in knowledge and gather us together in Paradise in the companionship of His beloved prophet, Muhammad (may Allah exalt his mention and grant him and his family the utmost peace) and may the peace, mercy and blessing of Allah be upon you.

Your brother in Allah,

Ali

All praise is for Allah; to proceed:

The prayer of the congregation of a mosque in its courtyard is the same as their prayer inside the mosque, and there is no blame in that. Indeed, I myself prayed in congregation in the courtyards of mosques in the summertime, for eight years in Riyad, with some of the greatest of scholars, without reproach from any of them. Maintaining one`s khushoo` (humble, submissive concentration) during the prayer is called for. It is necessary in these types of issues for the imam to convince his congregation of what he has decided to do, to make their hearts incline to this decision and to avoid anything that would cause division. Likewise, it is necessary for the members of the congregation to consent to what the imam has decided and to follow him in what his judgment has made him believe.

And from Allah comes all success.

Shaikh Abu Khalid Walid Idris al-Manisi as-Salami

Member of the Permanent Fatwa Committee, AMJA