Supplement: How is the straightening of the rows in prayer achieved, and is khushu' a pillar of the prayer?
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The questioner : Even if it is harmful to the neighbors. I ask Allah to forgive me if I have erred, and to benefit me and those present with your knowledge. May Allah keep you in His obedience?
The Shaykh : This is an important question in reality, because the one who did what he did to our brother the questioner in al-Masjid al-Haram did not intend, in our view, anything other than following the Sunnah. However, Imam Ahmad (may Allah have mercy on him) said a word that we should keep in mind. He said: "Most of the time, people err in ta'wil (interpretation) and qiyas (analogical reasoning)". Ta'wil means interpreting the texts; they interpret them in a way other than what was intended, even though they seek the truth, they err. Similarly, in qiyas, they analogize something to something that is not its counterpart, and they err. And he spoke the truth (may Allah have mercy on him). If you look at the disagreement among scholars and where they erred, you will find that it mostly revolves around these two matters: ta'wil, which is understanding the evidence in a way other than what was intended, and secondly, qiyas, where they perform a defective analogy. There is no doubt that it is established from the Companions that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered them to straighten the rows and close them together, to the point that one of them would press his ankle against his brother's ankle and his shoulder against his brother's shoulder. The purpose of this is to achieve straightness and closeness, and to leave no gap for Satan. This is the intended meaning. It is not intended that some of them harm others. Rather, the intent is to achieve equality and closeness. Some people understood that pressing the ankle against the ankle is intended for its own sake and is part of the Sunnah of prayer. So he presses his ankle against his brother's ankle while spreading his legs apart. He spreads his legs completely and widely in order to press his ankle against the ankle. But what about the shoulder and the shoulder? Are they pressed together or separated? They are necessarily separated. This is an error in ta'wil. The intent at the beginning of the prayer is that the imam orders equality and closeness, so people press together in a way that does not remove khushu' or cause harm, but in a way that achieves closeness such that devils do not enter between us. Also, equality is shown such that no one advances over another. As for following the adjacent neighbor as the questioner mentioned, this is not from the Sunnah. This one runs away from that one, and that one runs away from this one. Then he says that he places his finger on his finger, so much so that the questioner, if he is not exaggerating—may Allah forgive him—says that he almost placed his foot on the second foot because of how hard he was running away from this man. But this may be an exaggeration. May Allah accept our repentance and his. The Sunnah is that at the beginning of the prayer, people come close and press together, ankle to ankle and shoulder to shoulder. Then a person gives his brother comfort, because equality has been achieved and closeness has been achieved. Glory be to Allah! This is the opposite of what the brother said. You find some people have a gap between them and their brother through which Satan can enter. And if you want him to do the Sunnah by getting close to his brother, he is displeased with it and rebels. If only he were displeased and followed, but he rebels. He remains with four fingers, a span, between him and his brother. This is an error. This is also contrary to the Sunnah.
On this occasion, I ask: If two men pray, one behind the other, and there is no one else with them, do they stand equally? Or does the imam advance?
The students: ...
The Shaykh : No, they stand equally, and one does not advance over the other, because one advancing over the other is contrary to the Sunnah. The Sunnah for those in rows is what? They are equal. This is the Sunnah. For this reason, in the hadith of Ibn 'Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both), when he stood with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) when he stood to pray with him, he stood on his left, so the Prophet took his head and placed him on his right, and it is not mentioned that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) advanced over him.
For this reason, I point out this issue, because it is found in the books of some jurists that the imam advances slightly. But this has no basis in the Sunnah. Yes.
And in the questioner's question, he says: His khushu' was lost because his brother was chasing him, and it is a pillar. The correct view is that khushu' is not a pillar. The correct view is that khushu' is not a pillar, but it is a very confirmed Sunnah. As for it being a pillar or obligatory, that involves hardship, and people cannot fulfill it. Because for a person to not think about his prayer at all from its beginning to its end, this may be difficult. Not everyone can achieve it. And the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) informed This is evidence that whispers do not invalidate the prayer, but they diminish the prayer. A person may leave his prayer and only half of it, or a quarter, or a tenth is recorded for him, according to how much khushu' was lost in his prayer.
The questioner : ... .
The Shaykh : Yes, correct. This is also an important point, which is that some imams do not strive to straighten the rows. The most they do is say a known phrase, which is "Straighten, straighten," or "Straighten, be even," without looking at the row to see if there is advancement or delay, or closeness or separation. This is a neglect of the imam's duty. Abu Dawud narrated in his Sunan that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) And al-Nu'man ibn Bashir said: And when the people increased in the time of 'Umar ibn al-Khattab and 'Uthman ibn 'Affan, 'Umar and 'Uthman would appoint men to go through the rows. When they came and said, "The rows are straightened," they would say the takbir for the prayer. This is important. Among the obligatory duties of the imam is to strive for this, and not to say the takbir until he knows that the rows are straightened and completed, the first one then the next. Glory be to Allah the Great! This is what the brother said, which is the opposite of the ignorance of some people. Some people say: He prayed as imam and ma'mum, only two. So when he established the prayer, he said: "Straighten, be even." He said: You have no one, there is only one with you. How can you say "Straighten" and "Be even"? So I say some people are between excess and negligence. Either this or that. So I point out this issue to our brother imams.
The questioner : May Allah reward you with good, O Shaykh. Some imams may mention four or five hadiths before saying the takbir. They say: "Straighten, close together. Indeed, Allah does not look at the crooked row," and so on. They read four or five hadiths before saying the takbir. Is this permissible?
The Shaykh : No. The imam says: "Straighten, be even," and looks at the rows. But if he sees a defect, let him admonish them with an admonition as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did when he saw a man with his chest protruding among some of his Companions. He admonished them and said:Mishkat al-Masabih 1085 And what some imams mention, "Indeed, Allah does not look at the crooked row," this is not a hadith. It is not permissible to recite it to the people, because it did not come from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and has no basis. It is an attribute of Allah, "Indeed, Allah does not look," so it is not permissible to affirm it except with evidence. It is sufficient for us to say what the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said. If we see someone advancing or delaying, we say: Mishkat al-Masabih 1085 meaning between your hearts. As for "Indeed, Allah does not look at the crooked row," even if some imams say it, it has no basis. It is not permissible to mention it so that people believe it is a hadith from the Messenger of Allah, when it is not from the Messenger of Allah.
The Shaykh : This is an important question in reality, because the one who did what he did to our brother the questioner in al-Masjid al-Haram did not intend, in our view, anything other than following the Sunnah. However, Imam Ahmad (may Allah have mercy on him) said a word that we should keep in mind. He said: "Most of the time, people err in ta'wil (interpretation) and qiyas (analogical reasoning)". Ta'wil means interpreting the texts; they interpret them in a way other than what was intended, even though they seek the truth, they err. Similarly, in qiyas, they analogize something to something that is not its counterpart, and they err. And he spoke the truth (may Allah have mercy on him). If you look at the disagreement among scholars and where they erred, you will find that it mostly revolves around these two matters: ta'wil, which is understanding the evidence in a way other than what was intended, and secondly, qiyas, where they perform a defective analogy. There is no doubt that it is established from the Companions that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered them to straighten the rows and close them together, to the point that one of them would press his ankle against his brother's ankle and his shoulder against his brother's shoulder. The purpose of this is to achieve straightness and closeness, and to leave no gap for Satan. This is the intended meaning. It is not intended that some of them harm others. Rather, the intent is to achieve equality and closeness. Some people understood that pressing the ankle against the ankle is intended for its own sake and is part of the Sunnah of prayer. So he presses his ankle against his brother's ankle while spreading his legs apart. He spreads his legs completely and widely in order to press his ankle against the ankle. But what about the shoulder and the shoulder? Are they pressed together or separated? They are necessarily separated. This is an error in ta'wil. The intent at the beginning of the prayer is that the imam orders equality and closeness, so people press together in a way that does not remove khushu' or cause harm, but in a way that achieves closeness such that devils do not enter between us. Also, equality is shown such that no one advances over another. As for following the adjacent neighbor as the questioner mentioned, this is not from the Sunnah. This one runs away from that one, and that one runs away from this one. Then he says that he places his finger on his finger, so much so that the questioner, if he is not exaggerating—may Allah forgive him—says that he almost placed his foot on the second foot because of how hard he was running away from this man. But this may be an exaggeration. May Allah accept our repentance and his. The Sunnah is that at the beginning of the prayer, people come close and press together, ankle to ankle and shoulder to shoulder. Then a person gives his brother comfort, because equality has been achieved and closeness has been achieved. Glory be to Allah! This is the opposite of what the brother said. You find some people have a gap between them and their brother through which Satan can enter. And if you want him to do the Sunnah by getting close to his brother, he is displeased with it and rebels. If only he were displeased and followed, but he rebels. He remains with four fingers, a span, between him and his brother. This is an error. This is also contrary to the Sunnah.
On this occasion, I ask: If two men pray, one behind the other, and there is no one else with them, do they stand equally? Or does the imam advance?
The students: ...
The Shaykh : No, they stand equally, and one does not advance over the other, because one advancing over the other is contrary to the Sunnah. The Sunnah for those in rows is what? They are equal. This is the Sunnah. For this reason, in the hadith of Ibn 'Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both), when he stood with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) when he stood to pray with him, he stood on his left, so the Prophet took his head and placed him on his right, and it is not mentioned that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) advanced over him.
For this reason, I point out this issue, because it is found in the books of some jurists that the imam advances slightly. But this has no basis in the Sunnah. Yes.
And in the questioner's question, he says: His khushu' was lost because his brother was chasing him, and it is a pillar. The correct view is that khushu' is not a pillar. The correct view is that khushu' is not a pillar, but it is a very confirmed Sunnah. As for it being a pillar or obligatory, that involves hardship, and people cannot fulfill it. Because for a person to not think about his prayer at all from its beginning to its end, this may be difficult. Not everyone can achieve it. And the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) informed
That when Satan hears the iqamah, he turns away with a fart. When the iqamah ends, he returns and begins to whisper to the person, saying to him, "Remember such and such on such and such a day," so the man ends up not knowing how much he prayed.
أن الشيطان إذا سمع الإقامة ولى وله ضراط، فإذا انتهت الإقامة رجع، وجعل يوسوس للإنسان، فيقول له اذكر كذا وكذا يوم كذا وكذا فيصبح الرجل لا يدري كم صلىThe questioner : ... .
The Shaykh : Yes, correct. This is also an important point, which is that some imams do not strive to straighten the rows. The most they do is say a known phrase, which is "Straighten, straighten," or "Straighten, be even," without looking at the row to see if there is advancement or delay, or closeness or separation. This is a neglect of the imam's duty. Abu Dawud narrated in his Sunan that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family)
He used to straighten the rows, rubbing their shoulders and chests from the first of the row to the last.
كان يسوي الصفوف يمسح مناكبهم وصدورهم من أول الصف إلى آخرهThe Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to straighten our rows as if he were straightening arrows.
كان النبي صلى الله عليه وعلى آله وسلم يسوي صفوفنا كأنما يسوي بها القداحThe questioner : May Allah reward you with good, O Shaykh. Some imams may mention four or five hadiths before saying the takbir. They say: "Straighten, close together. Indeed, Allah does not look at the crooked row," and so on. They read four or five hadiths before saying the takbir. Is this permissible?
The Shaykh : No. The imam says: "Straighten, be even," and looks at the rows. But if he sees a defect, let him admonish them with an admonition as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did when he saw a man with his chest protruding among some of his Companions. He admonished them and said: