What is the distance a worshipper should leave between his feet? And what is the recommended practice regarding how to align in the rows of prayer?

The Shaykh : What is the distance a worshipper should leave between his feet? There is no specific recommended practice (sunnah) regarding this question. When a Muslim prays alone or as an imam, he should stand in a position that is comfortable for him, whether he spreads his feet five fingers apart as some schools of jurisprudence say without evidence, or more than that, or less. The important thing is that he stands in a position that does not cause him discomfort. However, as I said, this applies when he is praying alone or as an imam. But if he is praying in a row, there is a specific stance that is required. It is necessary to spread the feet so that the right foot touches the left foot of his neighbor and his left foot touches the right foot of his neighbor, so that the row becomes, as He (Glorified and Exalted is He) said, like a well-joined structure. The rows that men form today, let alone women, are the furthest from being tightly packed. Men are better than women in this, but only slightly. Aligning the rows with the feet and shoulders touching is one of the obligations of prayer, as he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: . In one narration, it says: . In another, it says: . Therefore, the prayer in which the rows are not aligned is incomplete, as evidenced by this hadith. Therefore, it is obligatory to pack the feet together. This packing requires a gap that varies from person to person. For example, a stout person must widen his feet significantly, while a thin person has a smaller gap between his feet according to his thinness. It should be noted in this regard, for men and even more so for women, that spreading the feet should not be exaggerated to the point that, when we try to spread the feet to touch them, we create a gap between the shoulders. It is like the common saying: "We want to put kohl in her eyes with our fingers" (meaning to obscure the truth). Because it is obligatory to touch the feet and also the shoulders, shoulder to shoulder and foot to foot. For example, when I spread my feet, I exaggerate the spreading and do this. No matter how tightly he packs next to me here, there will be a gap. But when I stand in a natural position and focus a little on packing, and touch my shoulder to my neighbor's shoulder here and there, and my foot, this exaggerated spreading is done by some of our Salafi brothers out of zeal and ignorance. Out of their zeal to touch foot to foot, he moves his leg a little. That is not Salafi, nor is it simply Sunni. He does not feel that his neighbor's foot is touching his foot; he moves away to escape it. What is our brother doing? He moves again so that his legs can spread. Why? To catch up to him, my brother? Do you hate people for being believers? Do your duty. As soon as you move your foot a little and feel that he is escaping, understand that he is not following the Sunnah. Leave him. There is no longer a large gap between you and him, even in the shoulder or the armpit. This is a proper conduct that Salafis, men and women, must observe: touching foot to foot and shoulder to shoulder. It is not just touching the feet and spreading the shoulders. No, if we use reason, touching shoulder to shoulder is better than touching foot to foot with a gap between the shoulders. We have many scenarios. The complete scenario is touching foot to foot and shoulder to shoulder. We have a second scenario: touching shoulder to shoulder without touching foot to foot. This is the second scenario. The third scenario is touching foot to foot and spreading the shoulders. This comes in third place. The last and fourth scenario is spreading the feet and the shoulders. This means this row is... not like a well-joined structure. So this is the answer regarding the spreading of the feet. If he prays alone, as an imam or individually, there is no specific recommended practice. But if he prays in a row, it is necessary to touch shoulder to shoulder and foot to foot. Yes.

The questioner: We pray, for example, as a congregation at the head...

The Shaykh : It is obligatory, not just necessary.