If the boys reach the row first and stand behind the imam in the first row, are they to be moved?

The questioner : For example, some of the boys might reach the row first, and then the men arrive. If the men arrive, they move them and sit in their places behind the imam. Of course, it is required that, for example, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: , but if they are late and the boys have already taken their places, do they have the right to move them if they arrived before them?

The Shaykh : In my understanding, the issue here differs between the case where the boys are behind the imam, in which case they are moved from that position due to the hadith I mentioned, and the case where they are in the first row to the right or left, far from being directly behind the imam. This is a different ruling, and the hadith I mentioned does not apply to them. Therefore, if the boys are to the right or left of the row, it should be considered, in my understanding of the matter, whether they are of the type who are known, or known by experience—because the people of the mosque know the boys—to be playing, joking, and laughing, such that they might be in the row now and a moment later you see them leaving the row to run and play. If the children are of this type, they are moved back. However, if they are of discernment and maintain the prayer and its etiquettes, they are left where they are and are not driven away or moved, unless what is reported in *Musnad al-Imam Ahmad* and *Sunan Abu Dawud* from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) is authentic: . This hadith was narrated by those we mentioned and others through a chain that includes Shahr ibn Hawshab. There is disagreement regarding Shahr ibn Hawshab’s hadith, and none of the critics raise his hadith to the level of a sahih (authentic) hadith, but some of the lenient ones place his hadith at the level of a hasan (good) hadith. I am convinced that this Shahr ibn Hawshab had poor memory, as indicated by his biography mentioned in the biographical books, including *Tahdhib al-Tahdhib*. Therefore, any hadith in which Shahr ibn Hawshab is a sole narrator and is not supported by another chain is not a proof. Therefore, I do not act upon this hadith. If there were a supporting narrator for Shahr who was like him, we would have raised his hadith to the level of being a proof, at least to the level of a hasan (good) hadith. But since, in my knowledge, he is a sole narrator and , it is not permissible to take it as a Sunnah. Accordingly, we say, in detail as previously stated: if the boys are of discernment, aware, and calm in prayer, the blame is not on them, but on the men who were late and did not take their places in their row. This is my opinion, and Allah knows best.