The default ruling for congregational prayer is that it should be performed in a mosque. This is based on the well-known Hadith of Abu Hurairah, where the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, said, ‘By the One in Whose Hand is my soul, I had intended to order that firewood be collected, then the prayer be called, and I would appoint a man to lead the people in prayer, and then go to some men and burn their houses down upon them. By the One in Whose Hand is my soul, if anyone of you knew that he would receive a fat, meaty vein or two good (meat) legs, he would come to ‘Isha’ prayer.’ [Al-Bukhari and others]
The congregational prayer is based on gathering together, and gathering together necessitates being present in the same physical space. It cannot be said that those in Makkah and others in Madinah are considered as two congregations except in a metaphorical sense, and the metaphorical sense is not intended here.
Gathering with the imam in congregational prayer can occur in two ways: by directly being in the same physical space as the imam or by being in the same physical space as someone who is directly connected to the imam. This is what we refer to as “connecting the rows.”
Therefore, the mentioned scenario in the question is not permissible. Additionally, it also leads to the harm of disrupting congregational prayers in general, as it would affect Friday prayers, regular congregational prayers, funeral prayers, Eid prayers, and any other prayer that requires people to gather together.
And Allah knows best.
Fatwa by Dr. Khālid Naṣr