Aligning the Rows and Placing Foot to Foot

The questioner:
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?

The Shaykh:
Alignment is for straightening the rows, whereas closing the gaps is for filling in the spaces. This is one thing, and if there is a gap, it is closed. However, one must not crowd his neighbor, nor squeeze him so that he falls over or feels cramped. There must be some space between them. This is the intent: that a space roughly equal to the width of a hand remains between them. Yes.

The questioner:
Let us see.

The Shaykh:
As for the indecency committed by some ignorant people and those who pretend to be scholars, such as spreading their legs until they crowd the person next to them and open a gap in the row beneath their feet, this contradicts the Sunnah. It is an excessive effort for which Allah has not sent down any authority. Yes.