Ruling on pushing praying children out of the front rows

Question:
This is a phenomenon that recurs in every prayer, namely pushing the children who are praying behind the imam from the front rows to the back. It is known that most of them come forward, and then a man who arrives late at the iqamah pushes the child. We ask you, Honorable Shaykh, to address this issue, and what is the reason for it?

Answer:
As for the discerning child whose prayer is valid, it is not permissible to drive him out of the row; rather, he is to be left in the place he reached first, unless he is close to the imam, in which case he is moved to the end of the row. Therefore, those behind the imam should be students of knowledge and sensible people, such that if the imam needs something during the prayer, such as if his recitation is blocked and he needs someone to help him with it, there should be students of knowledge behind him to help him with the recitation. Likewise, if something befalls him that requires him to withdraw from the prayer and not complete it, there should be students of knowledge and people of understanding behind him to take over. As for the child, he cannot do that. So the child is not to be behind the imam, and there is no harm in his being on the sides of the row, here or there, and it is not permissible to remove him from his place if he is not behind the imam.