The place where one stands when leading children in prayer
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner:
In his second question, he says: If an imam leads two or three boys who are under ten years old, should he stand to their left or in front of them?
The Shaykh:
The Sunnah is for him to stand in front of them, and there is no harm in the boys forming a row behind him. If they are seven years old or older and have reached the age of discernment, they form rows behind him like men, and if there are men with them, they complete the rows and stand behind the imam, and there is no harm. This is the correct view. It is established that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) led Anas ibn Malik and an orphan, al-Hasan ibn Zayd al-Muzani, and they stood behind the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), the orphan and Anas. He also prayed with Ibn Abbas, and Ibn Abbas was on his right, so he moved him to his left, peace and blessings be upon him. So the conclusion is that the boys stand behind the imam like men if there are two or more of them, while a single boy stands to the imam's right like a man. This is what is prescribed, even in the obligatory prayer, distinguishing between the obligatory and the voluntary. This is the correct view. Some scholars hold that this is specific to the voluntary prayer, but the correct view is that it is permissible in both the voluntary and the obligatory prayers, because what is permissible in the voluntary is permissible in the obligatory until there is a valid reason that distinguishes one from the other. Yes.
The questioner:
Now, if there is one adult man with these boys, does he stand in a row with them? Yes.
The Shaykh:
Yes.
The questioner:
And he is not considered part of their row.
The Shaykh:
The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) formed the rows, and the orphan would be behind, before reaching the age of discernment. Yes.
The questioner:
No.
In his second question, he says: If an imam leads two or three boys who are under ten years old, should he stand to their left or in front of them?
The Shaykh:
The Sunnah is for him to stand in front of them, and there is no harm in the boys forming a row behind him. If they are seven years old or older and have reached the age of discernment, they form rows behind him like men, and if there are men with them, they complete the rows and stand behind the imam, and there is no harm. This is the correct view. It is established that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) led Anas ibn Malik and an orphan, al-Hasan ibn Zayd al-Muzani, and they stood behind the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), the orphan and Anas. He also prayed with Ibn Abbas, and Ibn Abbas was on his right, so he moved him to his left, peace and blessings be upon him. So the conclusion is that the boys stand behind the imam like men if there are two or more of them, while a single boy stands to the imam's right like a man. This is what is prescribed, even in the obligatory prayer, distinguishing between the obligatory and the voluntary. This is the correct view. Some scholars hold that this is specific to the voluntary prayer, but the correct view is that it is permissible in both the voluntary and the obligatory prayers, because what is permissible in the voluntary is permissible in the obligatory until there is a valid reason that distinguishes one from the other. Yes.
The questioner:
Now, if there is one adult man with these boys, does he stand in a row with them? Yes.
The Shaykh:
Yes.
The questioner:
And he is not considered part of their row.
The Shaykh:
The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) formed the rows, and the orphan would be behind, before reaching the age of discernment. Yes.
The questioner:
No.
Source
قناة «فضيلة الشيخ ابن باز Alsheikh Binbaz»، 382 - مكان وقوف من يصلي بالصبيان - نور على الدرب — youtube.com
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.