Ruling on preventing children from praying in the front rows
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The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) encouraged the adults to stand in the first row, so some imams rebuke the children and prevent them from the first row, especially the middle position behind the imam, saying to them: This is not your place, and the adults do not move forward. What is your opinion, O Shaykh?
We say to the one who prevents the children from the first row or from the row behind the imam: Where is your evidence? He has no evidence. It is obligatory that whoever reaches a place first has the right to it; because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade a man from displacing his brother to sit in his place, and he said: (Whoever reaches a place before a Muslim reaches it has the right to it), and there is no evidence for this man who keeps the children away from the first row. Rather, this is a harm to these boys, and it also drives them away from the mosque, and it also causes the children to dislike this man.
And as for the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): (Let those of you who have reached maturity and understanding stand close to me) The intended meaning is that he commanded the adults to move forward to stand close to him, and he did not say: Let no one stand close to me except those who have reached maturity.If he had said: Let no one stand close to me except those who have reached maturity. We used to delay the children; because he forbade anyone but these people from standing close to him.And since he said: (Let those of you) So the meaning is that he encouraged them to move forward. Yes, if it is assumed that a boy causes corruption in the mosque or disturbs the worshippers, then here we discipline him, either through his guardian or directly. If he does not behave, we prevent him even from entering the mosque.
The questioner: And if the imam needs someone to deputize for him, as if something happens to him in the prayer and he finds no one behind him except children, and they are not prepared for that?The Shaykh: First, may Allah reward you. When does this issue occur? When does it happen that the imam needs to bring someone forward? Perhaps once in a year. I have been in the mosque for more than thirty years and this has never happened. This is one point.The second: There is no harm in a boy moving forward if he is a reader of the Qur'an, even if he is ten years old. We bring him forward to lead the congregation in prayer; because it is established in Sahih al-Bukhari that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: (Let your imam be the one among you who knows the most Qur'an). 'Amr ibn Salama al-Jarmi was intelligent, and at the age of seven he would meet the travelers and take the Qur'an from them. When the news came from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) that (Let your imam be the one among you who knows the most Qur'an), they looked among the tribe and found no one with more Qur'an than this boy, so they brought him forward to lead them in prayer while he was seven years old. This is in Sahih al-Bukhari. He was wearing a short lower garment, and when he prostrated, it would rise with the prostration until his private parts would be exposed. So a woman from the tribe came out one day while this boy was leading the congregation in prayer, and she said to them: Cover the backside of your reader.Al-ist is: The backside. And the custom is that "al-ist" is the front of the woman, but that is not the case.Al-ist is: The backside. So when this woman said, "Cover the backside of your reader from us,"Buy him a new shirt. He said: I was not as happy with this shirt as I was happy after Islam.
The questioner: And discernment?The Shaykh: Distinction usually occurs at seven years of age, but a boy may be distinguished at five years of age.Mahmud ibn al-Rabi' (may Allah be pleased with him) said: [I understood the spittle that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) spat in my face while I was five years old] So some children are intelligent and distinguish right from wrong while still young, and some reach eight years of age and do not distinguish.
We say to the one who prevents the children from the first row or from the row behind the imam: Where is your evidence? He has no evidence. It is obligatory that whoever reaches a place first has the right to it; because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade a man from displacing his brother to sit in his place, and he said: (Whoever reaches a place before a Muslim reaches it has the right to it), and there is no evidence for this man who keeps the children away from the first row. Rather, this is a harm to these boys, and it also drives them away from the mosque, and it also causes the children to dislike this man.
And as for the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): (Let those of you who have reached maturity and understanding stand close to me) The intended meaning is that he commanded the adults to move forward to stand close to him, and he did not say: Let no one stand close to me except those who have reached maturity.If he had said: Let no one stand close to me except those who have reached maturity. We used to delay the children; because he forbade anyone but these people from standing close to him.And since he said: (Let those of you) So the meaning is that he encouraged them to move forward. Yes, if it is assumed that a boy causes corruption in the mosque or disturbs the worshippers, then here we discipline him, either through his guardian or directly. If he does not behave, we prevent him even from entering the mosque.
The questioner: And if the imam needs someone to deputize for him, as if something happens to him in the prayer and he finds no one behind him except children, and they are not prepared for that?The Shaykh: First, may Allah reward you. When does this issue occur? When does it happen that the imam needs to bring someone forward? Perhaps once in a year. I have been in the mosque for more than thirty years and this has never happened. This is one point.The second: There is no harm in a boy moving forward if he is a reader of the Qur'an, even if he is ten years old. We bring him forward to lead the congregation in prayer; because it is established in Sahih al-Bukhari that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: (Let your imam be the one among you who knows the most Qur'an). 'Amr ibn Salama al-Jarmi was intelligent, and at the age of seven he would meet the travelers and take the Qur'an from them. When the news came from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) that (Let your imam be the one among you who knows the most Qur'an), they looked among the tribe and found no one with more Qur'an than this boy, so they brought him forward to lead them in prayer while he was seven years old. This is in Sahih al-Bukhari. He was wearing a short lower garment, and when he prostrated, it would rise with the prostration until his private parts would be exposed. So a woman from the tribe came out one day while this boy was leading the congregation in prayer, and she said to them: Cover the backside of your reader.Al-ist is: The backside. And the custom is that "al-ist" is the front of the woman, but that is not the case.Al-ist is: The backside. So when this woman said, "Cover the backside of your reader from us,"Buy him a new shirt. He said: I was not as happy with this shirt as I was happy after Islam.
The questioner: And discernment?The Shaykh: Distinction usually occurs at seven years of age, but a boy may be distinguished at five years of age.Mahmud ibn al-Rabi' (may Allah be pleased with him) said: [I understood the spittle that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) spat in my face while I was five years old] So some children are intelligent and distinguish right from wrong while still young, and some reach eight years of age and do not distinguish.