What is the evidence of those who said that it is permissible to straighten the rows with lines and to take them as a barrier? And the refutation of them.

The questioner : ... Some people ... what did he order them to do? To straighten their rows and to place their feet by the feet of others and their shoulders, meaning, so they asked him: What is the reason? He said: So that the devil does not enter and does not separate you. He said: My brother, he is present among you here!! [Everyone laughs!].

The Shaykh : Allah is the Greatest! Ignorance.

The questioner : We see some people placing a line ... if it is on the ground, and we see some taking the string as a barrier; on what do they rely?

The Shaykh : The problem of the string is a problem today!!

Another questioner : There are many lines ... .

The Shaykh : No, this is in fact , they think that this string teaches them to straighten the rows, on the contrary it habituates them to not pray except on the string, and in the wilderness if they want to pray in 'Arafah and in Mina and so on, today when they asked for rain in what? ... .

Another questioner : ... .

The Shaykh : Yes, it is a sad and very shameful thing, the row is like this and like this and like this; why? ... they pray on it, so I believe that the string should be a matter agreed upon by the later jurists, whether one of them believes like us in his saying - peace and blessings be upon him - : or does not believe and says that the Messenger - peace and blessings be upon him - said: , and this is a hadith that has no basis with this wording, it does not concern us now to delve into this ignorance, but rather a reference; so I say: whether one believes that every religious innovation is misguidance and every misguidance is in the Fire, or believes that religious innovation is divided into five categories, it should be agreed upon by the jurists today that extending the string in the mosques is a misguiding religious innovation; why? Because those who divided religious innovation into five categories, as is transmitted from "Al-Imam al-Aziz ibn 'Abd al-Salam" and "Al-Imam al-Nawawi" followed him and other later scholars, they said: the forbidden religious innovation is that which contradicts the Sunnah, so the fact that this string contradicts the Sunnah is undoubtedly a matter agreed upon if we look at the reality of Muslims today; because you see that despite extending the string in some mosques - also - you find negligence in what the poor trampled-upon string requires of what? Of organization, so what do you think if they are left without a string? The reason is that the imams of the mosques do not follow the Sunnah.
It has been established in many authentic hadiths from the Prophet - peace and blessings be upon him - that he did not say the takbir in prayer except after he straightened the rows as arrows are straightened, so this one says to him: move back, and this one says to him: move forward, and so on, and he orders them and emphasizes the order upon them: , to straighten your rows with a string? No, by responding, there were no strings or this carpet, the mosques were as simple as can be imagined, the important thing is . The sad and very sad thing is that in the holiest of Allah's lands the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah - peace and blessings be upon him - was left, so there you do not find except one who says: straighten or be straight, and be straight and that is the end of everything, and the mosques are what? Full, in the time of 'Uthman ibn 'Affan he assigned a man to pass over the rows to straighten them and return later and say to him: the rows are straightened so that he says: Allah is the Greatest, now there are many jobs there is something necessary and something not necessary, but the job that 'Uthman ibn 'Affan established due to the crowding, as he established the second adhan, then they changed and altered everything and left this Sunnah, if they had been content with the Sunnah of the Messenger which was sufficient in his time of emphasizing the straightening of the rows with various expressions leading to straightening , , this is what he - peace and blessings be upon him - used to say, all these things were abolished and the imams rested and extended the string, and the matter was finished!

Another questioner : Shaykh, the Shaykh "Ahmad ... " says ... he said: We have not known except stones and rows on the string, because the men are not ... .

The Shaykh : Sweet [The Shaykh laughs!].

Another questioner : As for Shaykh Ahmad ... our Shaykh, I understood at the beginning of his question whether the string is taken as a barrier? ... but we benefited from your answer, but I seem to have understood it like this.

The Shaykh : This is correct, you remind me, may Allah reward you with good, this is a pertinent question; because there is a hadith in "Sunan Abu Dawud" that the Messenger ordered to place a stick, and if not found then a string, but the hadith of the string is in reality like that string; meaning it is not valid from the legal aspect, and even though it is narrated in "Sunan Abu Dawud", but in its chain there is obscurity and disturbance as I remember; and therefore what confirms its weakness from the aspect of its text is that the previous hadith's weakness from the aspect of its chain: ; so this invalidates the hadith of the string.

The questioner : ... the stick.

The Shaykh : Yes?

The questioner : The stick?

The Shaykh : Better than the back of the saddle.

The questioner : ... .

The Shaykh : ... .

The questioner : Some people ... .

The Shaykh : It is all like the other, like the string.