بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
Imām al-Bukhārī said in his sahīh:
باب إِلْزَاقِ الْمَنْكِبِ بِالْمَنْكِبِ وَالْقَدَمِ بِالْقَدَمِ فِي الصَّفِّ
Chapter: To stand shoulder to shoulder and foot to foot in a row
Al-Nu’mān bin Bashīr said: I saw that a man from us attach his ankle to the ankle of his companion.
(Sahīh al-Bukhārī, The Book of Adhān, Chapter 76)
Hadīth 1)
Anas ibn Mālik narrated: The Prophet (ﷺ) said:
أَقِيمُوا صُفُوفَكُمْ فَإِنِّي أَرَاكُمْ مِنْ وَرَاءِ ظَهْرِي . وَكَانَ أَحَدُنَا يُلْزِقُ مَنْكِبَهُ بِمَنْكِبِ صَاحِبِهِ وَقَدَمَهُ بِقَدَمِهِ
“Straighten your rows for I see you from behind my back.” Anas added: Everyone of us used to attach his shoulder with the shoulder of his companion and his foot with the foot of his companion. (Sahīh al-Bukhārī 725)
Hadīth 2)
Nu’mān bin Bashīr narrated:
أَقْبَلَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم عَلَى النَّاسِ بِوَجْهِهِ فَقَالَ أَقِيمُوا صُفُوفَكُمْ . ثَلاَثًا . وَاللَّهِ لَتُقِيمُنَّ صُفُوفَكُمْ أَوْ لَيُخَالِفَنَّ اللَّهُ بَيْنَ قُلُوبِكُمْ . قَالَ فَرَأَيْتُ الرَّجُلَ يُلْزِقُ مَنْكِبَهُ بِمَنْكِبِ صَاحِبِهِ وَرُكْبَتَهُ بِرُكْبَةِ صَاحِبِهِ وَكَعْبَهُ بِكَعْبِهِ
the Messenger of Allāh (ﷺ) paid attention to the people and said three times; straighten your rows (in prayer); “by Allāh, you must straighten your rows, or Allāh will certainly cause differences amongst your hearts.” I then saw that every person stood in prayer attaching his shoulder to that of his companion, and his knee to that of his companion, and his ankle to that of his companion. (Abū Dawūd 662. Declared Sahīh by Al-Albānī in Al-Silsilah 1/71)
Hadīth 3)
Abdullāh ibn ‘Umar narrated:
أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم قَالَ : أَقِيمُوا الصُّفُوفَ وَحَاذُوا بَيْنَ الْمَنَاكِبِ وَسُدُّوا الْخَلَلَ وَلِينُوا بِأَيْدِي إِخْوَانِكُمْ . لَمْ يَقُلْ عِيسَى بِأَيْدِي إِخْوَانِكُمْ . وَلاَ تَذَرُوا فُرُجَاتٍ لِلشَّيْطَانِ وَمَنْ وَصَلَ صَفًّا وَصَلَهُ اللَّهُ وَمَنْ قَطَعَ صَفًّا قَطَعَهُ اللَّهُ
The Prophet (ﷺ) said: “Set the rows in order, stand shoulder to shoulder, close the gaps, be pliant in the hands of your brethren, and do not leave openings for the shaytān. If anyone joins up a row, Allāh will join him up, but if anyone breaks a row, Allah will cut him off.” (Abū Dawūd 666. Declared Sahīh by Al-Albānī)
Hadīth 4)
Anas ibn Mālik narrated:
رُصُّوا صُفُوفَكُمْ وَقَارِبُوا بَيْنَهَا وَحَاذُوا بِالأَعْنَاقِ فَوَالَّذِي نَفْسِي بِيَدِهِ إِنِّي لأَرَى الشَّيْطَانَ يَدْخُلُ مِنْ خَلَلِ الصَّفِّ كَأَنَّهَا الْحَذَفُ
The Prophet (ﷺ) said: “Stand close together in your rows, and line yourselves up tightly, and make your necks straight (in one line), for by Him in Whose hand my soul is, I see the shaytān coming in through openings in the row just like a small black goat.” (Abū Dawūd 667. Declared Sahīh by Al-Albānī)
Hadīth 5)
Anas ibn Mālik narrated:
سَوُّوا صُفُوفَكُمْ فَإِنَّ تَسْوِيَةَ الصَّفِّ مِنْ تَمَامِ الصَّلاَةِ
The Prophet (ﷺ) said: “Straighten your rows for the straightening of the rows is part of perfecting the prayer.” (Abū Dawūd 668. Declared Sahīh by Al-Albānī)
In the narration collected by al-Bukhārī #723:
سَوُّوا صُفُوفَكُمْ فَإِنَّ تَسْوِيَةَ الصُّفُوفِ مِنْ إِقَامَةِ الصَّلاَةِ
The Prophet (ﷺ) said, “Straighten your rows for the straightening of the rows is essential for a perfect and correct prayer.”
The manner of straightening the rows
Al-Mubārakfūrī said: [explaining the narration of Anas collected by al-Bukhārī] (hadīth 1): Anas said: ‘Everyone of us used to…‘ This statement indicates that the aforementioned act occurred during the time of the Prophet (ﷺ). Thus, it is used as evidence to clarify what is meant by establishing and straightening the row…
The meaning of straightening the row is for those who are standing in it to be in a continuous and straight line, and to fill the defect in the row by attachment of shoulder to shoulder and foot to foot.
[he then mentions the narration of Anas again and Nu’mān – hadīth 2 above, and hadīth 3 which mentions closing the gaps and not leaving space for the shaytān] and says: All of this clearly indicates that what is meant by establishing and straightening the row is for those standing to be straight in one line, and to fill the spaces and gaps in the row by attachment of shoulder to shoulder and foot to foot, and that the Companions in his time (ﷺ) were doing this. (Sharh Mishkāt 4/1-5)
“Line yourselves up tightly” Al-Khattābī said: “Its meaning is to bring part of it together with another part, and close in between them. And from it is the compressed building; Allāh said: “…as if they were a solid structure…” [As- Saff 61:4]. And it is further explained by the second half; that is, if they are not together, Shaytān will come between them, and this gap through which he enters, destroys the ranks, like a gap between mortars of a structure, which erode it, bringing about its downfall. (Sunan Abū Dawūd 1/400, Darussalam, English print)
Al-Mubārakfūrī said: “Stand close together“, that is, stick together until your shoulders and feet are connected in line, and there will be no flaw or gaps between you. (Sharh Mishkāt 4/4)
Ibn ‘Uthaymīn said: [the rows are straightened] with closeness such that no one moves ahead of others. Hence, each of the companions would stick his ankle to his companion’s ankle and his shoulder to his shoulder (Sharh Riyād al-Sālihīn 5/134)
The ruling on straightening the rows
Al-Mubārakfūrī said: The doctrine of Al-Bukhārī is that (straightening the row) is obligatory, as he included in his Sahīh saying: ‘Chapter on the sin of one who does not complete the rows‘ (Chapter 75 in the book of adhān).
The truth in my opinion is that establishing the row, correcting it, and straightening it are among the obligations of the congregational prayer, such that if one leaves it out, ones (reward) will be reduced, and the one who leaves this out is sinful because the command to straighten (the rows) has been given (by the Prophet (ﷺ)), and the basic principle is that a command is obligation. (Abridged, Sharh Mishkāt 4/1-2, #1090)
[Hadīth 5]… Makes it clear that the prayer of those who do not make the rows straight and do not fill the gaps remains incomplete and imperfect. (Sunan Abū Dawūd 1/400, Darussalam, English print)
A summary of the manner in straightening the rows
Shaykh Ibn al-‘Uthaymīn said: We are commanded to straighten the rows in the following ways:
Firstly, straighten the row with closeness such that no one moves ahead of others. Hence, each of the companions would stick his ankle to his companion’s ankle and his shoulder to his shoulder. This description is evidence against the defective understanding of those who separate between their legs when they stand in rows such that (only) their feet align with the feet of those by their sides with their shoulders far apart – this is an innovation (bid’ah). The Sunnah is that we should be close to our companion, aligning our ankles with his ankle and his shoulder with his shoulder without unnecessary separation of legs. Rather we leave it straightened in a normal way.
Secondly, straightening the row is by completing it in succession. Hence, no one should start the second row before the completion of the first row, or the third before the completion of the second row.
Thirdly, when men and women are together, it is preferable for women to be far from men. Indeed, the best rows for the women are the last rows and the worst for them are the first rows.
Fourthly, closing up gaps. We should not leave gaps for the shaytān to enter into because they overpower the son of Adam as a trial from Allāh, The Glorified and the Most High. So if they find a gap in the row, they will distract the worshippers until they confuse them in their Prayer.
Fifthly, if there are three persons, one of them should move forward as Imam and the rest should be behind him regardless of whether the other two are adults, children or an adult and a child. They must all stand behind him. This is established from the Prophet (ﷺ) in a supererogatory prayer. However, the obligatory Prayer is comparable to the supererogatory Prayer except there is an evidence to the contrary. (Sharh Riyād al-Sālihīn 5/134,Darussalam print. 5/114-155 Arabic Madār al-Watan print)
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