What is the ruling on lining up children who have not reached the age of discernment directly behind the imam?

Question : In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Honorable Shaykh, peace be upon you and Allah’s mercy. Some fathers bring their young sons, who have reached the age of discernment, and line them up directly behind the imam. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “Let those of you who have reached the age of reason and understanding come forward.” What is your view? May Allah reward you with good.

Answer : Yes, if these children do not cause any harm, there is nothing wrong with bringing them and placing them in the first row, because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) informed us that whoever gets to something first has the strongest right to it. As for the Prophet’s (peace and blessings be upon him) saying, “Let those of you who have reached the age of reason and understanding come forward,” this is a command for those of sound mind who have reached maturity to come forward so that they may learn from him how to pray. He is commanding these people to come forward. Yes, if the wording of the hadith were “Let only those of you who have reached the age of reason and understanding come forward,” we would say that if children are lined up in the first row, we would send them back. But the hadith is directed at the mature, sane men to come forward. So it is an encouragement for these people to come forward, not a prohibition for others from coming forward. Then know, my brother, that we are now in an era where we need to attach the hearts of the boys to the mosques. But if you drove them away, what would they say? They would hate the mosque and hate the man who drove them away. So we need to win the hearts of these worshippers.
It does not harm if a child stands between two men. Some people say that a child breaks the row if he stands there, but that is not correct. If we were to follow the opinion of some scholars that men should be behind the imam and then the children, that would lead to chaos, because if the children were in a single row, what would happen? They would play and make noise. But if they are among the mature men, they will be disciplined.