Question
If my house is directly next door to the mosque and I can hear the Imam’s entire prayer from the loud speaker, can I pray with the congregation of the mosque from my garden?
Answer
In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate
It is a condition for the validity of the follower’s prayer that (1) the follower and Imam are legally considered in the ‘same place’ and (2) nothing come between the follower and the Imam anything that causes them to be unaware of the Imam’s movements in the prayer. [Ibn ‘Abidin, Radd al-Muhtar]
Both conditions are explained below.
First Condition: Legal Definition of ‘Same Place’
The follower and Imam are legally considered in the same place if they are – either (a) both in the mosque, the same home, or in the same conveyance or (b) they are in different places but the two places are not separated by the distance of two rows of prayer. [Ibid.]
Second Condition: Separation Between Imam and Follower
There must not be anything separating the follower from the Imam that causes the follower to be unaware of the Imam’s movements either through seeing the Imam or hearing him. [Ibid.]
That said, if something separates the follower from the Imam such that the follower cannot see or hear the Imam, the follower’s prayer is invalid. [Ibid.]
If the follower can still hear the Imam and know therefrom of the Imam’s movements the prayer is valid. [Ibid.]
Summary
If your house/garden is very close the mosque such that the separation is less than the distance of two rows of prayer and you can hear the Imam’s prayer from the loud speaker, the prayer is valid.
If, however, there is a large space (more than two rows) between your house/garden and the mosque and/or you cannot hear or see the Imam, the prayer is invalid.
Hope this helps
Allah knows best
[Shaykh] Yusuf Weltch
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani