Is there any reported virtue in praying on the right side of the rows?

The questioner : The question asks: Is there any reported virtue in praying on the right side of the rows, since I heard one of the brothers quote you as saying: No virtue has been reported in that, and may Allah reward you with good?

The Shaykh : No, what we say is that the right side is not better in every case; rather, it is better than the left side when the positions are close together, meaning that the right and left sides are at a similar distance from the imam. However, if they are far apart, such that there are twenty men on the imam's right and five or four on his left, then this is not prescribed. The evidence for this is that when it was prescribed for three people to form a single row, one of them was on the imam's right and the second was on the imam's left. To explain this phrase: when the rows were first prescribed, two people would stand equally, and three people would stand equally, but the two would not stand on the right; rather, one would stand on his right and one on his left. This indicates that the Lawgiver considered the imam's central position. Also, if the right side is far away, the left side is distinguished by its closeness to the imam, and closeness to the imam is a matter sought by the Shari'ah. This is if we say that the hadith is not authentic. If this hadith is authentic, then it settles the issue and there is no problem with it. Yes.