Is it prescribed to mark out the rows in mosques for the worshippers to stand on?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : The carpets in mosques are marked out to straighten the rows.
The Shaykh : Yes, indeed.
The questioner : So from which side did you introduce this?
The Shaykh : religious innovation
The questioner : religious innovation
The Shaykh : Yes, it is a bid'ah (religious innovation) that must be so, by the consensus of the scholars, even those who divide bid'ah into five categories. This is because it contradicts the Sunnah and leads people to ignorance regarding the straightening of the rows, which our Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) cared for with extreme concern. Many of the imams of mosques have neglected this. I have not heard an imam say to the people: "Straighten your rows, or Allah will cause your faces to differ" and similar important hadiths.
The questioner : Except in some mosques.
The Shaykh : It is rare, very rare. As for the well-known mosques, they do not use this. The important thing is that the imam, and whoever assists him if the mosque is large, as happened in the time of 'Uthman, should care for straightening the rows. This helps them in their neglect of the Sunnah by ordering the straightening of the rows and the worshippers' care for it, relying on the lines. In my opinion, this Sunnah is a bid'ah (religious innovation) that contradicts the Sunnah.
The questioner : O Shaykh, these timings are timing...
The Shaykh : Yes, indeed.
The questioner : So from which side did you introduce this?
The Shaykh : religious innovation
The questioner : religious innovation
The Shaykh : Yes, it is a bid'ah (religious innovation) that must be so, by the consensus of the scholars, even those who divide bid'ah into five categories. This is because it contradicts the Sunnah and leads people to ignorance regarding the straightening of the rows, which our Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) cared for with extreme concern. Many of the imams of mosques have neglected this. I have not heard an imam say to the people: "Straighten your rows, or Allah will cause your faces to differ" and similar important hadiths.
The questioner : Except in some mosques.
The Shaykh : It is rare, very rare. As for the well-known mosques, they do not use this. The important thing is that the imam, and whoever assists him if the mosque is large, as happened in the time of 'Uthman, should care for straightening the rows. This helps them in their neglect of the Sunnah by ordering the straightening of the rows and the worshippers' care for it, relying on the lines. In my opinion, this Sunnah is a bid'ah (religious innovation) that contradicts the Sunnah.
The questioner : O Shaykh, these timings are timing...