Aligning the Rows and Placing Foot to Foot
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Question:
Honorable Shaykh, may Allah grant you success. He says: Does aligning the rows require placing foot to foot and shoulder to shoulder, or is it merely lining up?
Answer:
Lining up is for straightening the row, whereas placing foot to foot is for closing the gaps. This is one thing, and that is another. So, one should place his foot close, but he must not squeeze his neighbor or crush him. He should not leave a space between them. The intention is that no significant gap remains between them; the aim is closeness. Yes. Let us see. As for what some ignorant and pretentious people do by spreading their legs wide, opening their legs until they squeeze the person next to them and open a gap in the row under their feet, this contradicts the Sunnah. This is an excessive effort for which Allah has not sent down any authority. Yes.
Honorable Shaykh, may Allah grant you success. He says: Does aligning the rows require placing foot to foot and shoulder to shoulder, or is it merely lining up?
Answer:
Lining up is for straightening the row, whereas placing foot to foot is for closing the gaps. This is one thing, and that is another. So, one should place his foot close, but he must not squeeze his neighbor or crush him. He should not leave a space between them. The intention is that no significant gap remains between them; the aim is closeness. Yes. Let us see. As for what some ignorant and pretentious people do by spreading their legs wide, opening their legs until they squeeze the person next to them and open a gap in the row under their feet, this contradicts the Sunnah. This is an excessive effort for which Allah has not sent down any authority. Yes.
Source
مختصر زاد المعاد 06-06-1433هـ — af.org.sa (1:00:37)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.