Alerting the worshippers not to break the rows except in cases of necessity, such as overcrowding.
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : The broken rows... My brothers in the mosque...
The Shaykh : Peace, mercy, and blessings of Allah be upon you. Welcome.
The questioner : ...There is a lot regarding the broken rows. I don't know; I see that there are many broken rows outside and downstairs, meaning for necessity. Do you not see...
The Shaykh : What do you mean by leaving this matter?
The questioner : Leaving the alerting about this, about breaking the rows, is for necessity, the necessity of overcrowding.
The Shaykh : Yes, if it is as you say, then it is as you say.
The questioner : ...Broken rows downstairs...
Another questioner : Above what is there.
Another questioner : Outside the issue, outside the mosque.
The Shaykh : His intention is due to the overcrowding; there is no need to alert about breaking the rows because this breaking is for necessity. Necessities permit the prohibited.
The questioner : By Allah, my Shaykh, I see that he should alert, meaning for the sake of teaching. There is no harm in alerting... that the rows are not permissible to be broken, that this is for necessity. Of course, we cannot...
The Shaykh : So, combine the two opinions. Combine the professor's opinion of alerting, and focus the issue in the minds of the others, and restrict it to necessity only. But I see in this occasion—may Allah bless you—Abu Malik, we were speaking, and a question came to us about the hadith narrated by al-Bukhari: "That they used to face the preacher with their faces." So Abu Abd al-Rahman asked what the form of this facing is? I answered him, and the summary is that it is formed by the turning of the sitters, each in his place, with his face to the preacher, such that a curve is formed from these faces, a curve... Then the issue unfolded before you came, and I alerted about the mistake of some of the youth who lean on the western and eastern walls. I said: These people fall into two violations. The first violation is that they face each other, so they violated the Sunnah mentioned earlier. The other violation is that it resembles al-ihtiba' (sitting on one's heels) in this issue, such that we do not see a Shaykh like me, let alone the youth, and most of them are youth, taking the western and eastern walls as a support and a backrest. This is not what should be done.
The questioner : But—my Shaykh—we alerted several times, but there is no objection...
The Shaykh : If Allah wills.
The questioner : ... .
Another questioner : No, no... A few days ago we were... discussing the guidelines and rules of enjoining good and forbidding evil. And the Shaykh, may Allah reward him with good, gave a good speech... And perhaps Allah—Mighty and Majestic—... And it was also a meeting, meaning other than this meeting, revolving around... seeking knowledge... And it became clear to us through the discussion that many or some of the youth... had an attachment... So from here we also deny that there be... another topic...
The Shaykh : And upon you be peace. And upon you be peace, mercy, and blessings of Allah.
The Shaykh : Peace, mercy, and blessings of Allah be upon you. Welcome.
The questioner : ...There is a lot regarding the broken rows. I don't know; I see that there are many broken rows outside and downstairs, meaning for necessity. Do you not see...
The Shaykh : What do you mean by leaving this matter?
The questioner : Leaving the alerting about this, about breaking the rows, is for necessity, the necessity of overcrowding.
The Shaykh : Yes, if it is as you say, then it is as you say.
The questioner : ...Broken rows downstairs...
Another questioner : Above what is there.
Another questioner : Outside the issue, outside the mosque.
The Shaykh : His intention is due to the overcrowding; there is no need to alert about breaking the rows because this breaking is for necessity. Necessities permit the prohibited.
The questioner : By Allah, my Shaykh, I see that he should alert, meaning for the sake of teaching. There is no harm in alerting... that the rows are not permissible to be broken, that this is for necessity. Of course, we cannot...
The Shaykh : So, combine the two opinions. Combine the professor's opinion of alerting, and focus the issue in the minds of the others, and restrict it to necessity only. But I see in this occasion—may Allah bless you—Abu Malik, we were speaking, and a question came to us about the hadith narrated by al-Bukhari: "That they used to face the preacher with their faces." So Abu Abd al-Rahman asked what the form of this facing is? I answered him, and the summary is that it is formed by the turning of the sitters, each in his place, with his face to the preacher, such that a curve is formed from these faces, a curve... Then the issue unfolded before you came, and I alerted about the mistake of some of the youth who lean on the western and eastern walls. I said: These people fall into two violations. The first violation is that they face each other, so they violated the Sunnah mentioned earlier. The other violation is that it resembles al-ihtiba' (sitting on one's heels) in this issue, such that we do not see a Shaykh like me, let alone the youth, and most of them are youth, taking the western and eastern walls as a support and a backrest. This is not what should be done.
The questioner : But—my Shaykh—we alerted several times, but there is no objection...
The Shaykh : If Allah wills.
The questioner : ... .
Another questioner : No, no... A few days ago we were... discussing the guidelines and rules of enjoining good and forbidding evil. And the Shaykh, may Allah reward him with good, gave a good speech... And perhaps Allah—Mighty and Majestic—... And it was also a meeting, meaning other than this meeting, revolving around... seeking knowledge... And it became clear to us through the discussion that many or some of the youth... had an attachment... So from here we also deny that there be... another topic...
The Shaykh : And upon you be peace. And upon you be peace, mercy, and blessings of Allah.
Source
www.al-albany.com
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.