بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
Hadīth 1.
كَانَ رَسُولُ اللهِ ﷺ يُسَوِّي صُفُوفَنَا ، حَتَّى كَأَنَّمَا يُسَوِّيبِهَا الْقِدَاحَ، حَتَّى إِذَا رَأَى أَنَّا قَدْ عَقَلْنَا ، ثُمَّ خَرَجَ يَوْمًا فَقَامَ حَتَّى كَادَ أَنْ يُكَبِّرَ فَرَأَى رَجُلًا بَادِيًا صَدْرُهُ، فَقَالَ : عِبَادَ اللَّهِ، لَتُسَرُّنَ صُفُوفَكُمْ أَوْ لَيُخَالِفَنَّ اللَّهُ بَيْنَ وُجُوهِكُمْ
Nu’mān ibn Bashīr narrated: “The Messenger of Allāh ﷺ used to straighten our rows until it was as if he was straightening with them an arrow, until when he saw that we had understood. Then he came out one day and stood until he was about to say the takbīr (the opening “Allāhu Akbar”), and he saw a man whose chest was protruding [from the line]. So he said: “Servants of Allāh, straighten your rows or Allāh will cause discord between your faces.” (Sahīh Muslim 436)
فرأيتُ الرجل يلزق منكبه بمنكب صاحبه، وركبته بركبة صاحبه، وكعبه بكعبه
In a variant from Nu’mān ibn Bashīr: “I saw the man attach his shoulder against his companion’s shoulder, his knee against his knee, and his ankle against his ankle.” (Abū Dawūd 662 and others. Declared Sahīh by Al-Albānī in Sahīhah 1/72)
Hadīth 2.
وَكَانَ أَحَدُنَا يُلْزِقُ مَنْكِبَهُ بِمَنْكِبِ صَاحِبِهِ وَقَدَمَهُ بِقَدَمِهِ
Anas narrated: “Everyone of us used to attach his shoulder with the shoulder of his companion and his foot against his foot.” (Sahīh al-Bukhārī 725)
لقد رأيت أحدنا يلزق منكبه بمنكب صاحبه وقدمه بقدمه، ولو ذهبت تفعل ذلك اليوم لترى أحدهم كأنه بغلٌ شموسٌ
In a variant from Anas: “I saw everyone of us attach his shoulder against his companion’s shoulder, and his foot against his foot. If you were to try to do this today, one of you would shy away like a stubborn mule.” (Musannaf ibn Abī Shaybah 3562, Musnad Abū Ya’lā 3720, Sahīhah of Al-Albānī 1/71)
Explanation
Shaykh ibn al-‘Uthaymīn said: “…the alignment should be in the upper part of the body and the lower part of the body. For this reason the Companions (may Allāh be pleased with them) used to have a man place his ankle against his brother’s ankle, and his shoulder against his brother’s shoulder…
If it is said: Is the alignment by the tips of the toes or the tips of the heels, or by what?
We say: The Companions (may Allāh be pleased with them) clarified for us that the alignment is by the ankle, because the ankle is what the (straightness of the) body is built upon. The ankle is at the bottom of the leg, and the leg is the pillar of the body, so the alignment is by the ankles.” (Sharh Umdatul Ahkām 1/820)
Shaykh ul-Islām ibn Taymiyyah said: “The prescribed practises from the sunnah (al-masnūn) for rows are five things:
- Straightening, aligning, and correcting the row until it becomes like an arrow. This is achieved by alignment of the shoulders, knees, and ankles – not by the toes.
- Standing close together in (the row) and closing gaps and openings, until a man attaches his shoulder against another man’s shoulder and his ankle against his ankle.
- Drawing the rows close together and bringing them near each other, until the prostration of the one behind is behind the standing place of the one in front, without crowding that leads to harming the worshippers. [see Abū Dawūd 667 and others, authenticated by Al-Albānī in his checking]
- Completing the first [row] then the next, achieving true gathering and closeness to the imām. [see Abū Dawūd 671 and others, authenticated by Al-Albānī in his checking]
- The imām being in the center, meaning that he should be (positioned) in the middle of the row. [see Abū Dawūd 681. Declared weak by Al-Albānī in his checking]
(Sharh al-Umdah 2/643-644)
Shaykh Al-Albānī said: “The mentioned straightening is only achieved by pressing shoulder to shoulder and the edge of foot to foot, because this is what the Companions (may Allāh be pleased with them) did when they were commanded to establish rows and stand close together in them.
It is regrettable that Muslims have been careless about this sunnah of alignment, indeed they have neglected it, except for few of them. I have not seen it (practised) among any group except the Ahl al-Hadīth (the people of Hadīth).” (Sahīhah 1/72-73)
Hāfidh ibn Mulaqqin said: “In (the hadīth) is (evidence of) the dislike of advancing ahead of the congregants in the (prayer) row, whether the advancement is with his foot, shoulder, or entire body. For if the (prophet) (ﷺ) forbade and threatened the protruding of the chest, in which no great violation of straightening appears, then what do you think (about doing so with) other parts of the body, feet, and shoulders?!” (al-I’lām 2/522)
Related posts:
Standing foot to foot in prayer – al-Mubārakfūrī, Ibn ‘Uthaymīn
Straightening the rows in prayer – the imāms obligation
https://fawaaids.com/2025/07/14/straightening-the-rows-in-prayer-the-imams-obligation/
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