A word from the Shaykh explaining the etiquette of closeness and gathering in scholarly assemblies and not separating in them.

The Shaykh : So I begin with the sermon of need, which the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) used to teach his Companions:
Verily, all praise is due to Allah; we praise Him, seek His help, and seek His forgiveness. We seek refuge in Allah from the evil of our own selves and from the evil of our deeds. Whomsoever Allah guides, none can misguide, and whomsoever He leaves to misguide, none can guide. And I bear witness that there is no deity worthy of worship except Allah alone, with no partner, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His slave and His Messenger. As for what follows:
The best of speech is the speech of Allah, and the best of guidance is the guidance of Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him and his family). The worst of matters are their innovations, and every innovation is a misguidance, and every misguidance is in the Fire.
Many of the scholarly assemblies held in a place as spacious and wide as this one find the people sitting far apart from one another. Although this manner of sitting, as you will hear, is contrary to the texts of the Shari'ah, it appears to me to suggest something that is not in keeping with Islamic etiquette, which encourages humility, especially for those who are afflicted with being placed at the head of the assembly. When this afflicted person sits at the head of the assembly and the other people sitThose present : far away from him, this sitting seems to suggest a degree of majesty and grandeur that is not fitting for any Islamic community or Islamic gathering.
There is no doubt that this word is in the category of explaining the noble guidance you will hear from authentic hadiths that came from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him).
For example, there is a hadith in Sahih Muslim that forbids those sitting in the mosque from separating into circles. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) entered the mosque one day and saw them thus separated into circles, so he said to them: meaning: separated.
There is no doubt that our gathering and its like are numerous, praise be to Allah. Even though the matter often relates to health, strength, and vitality, these gatherings are always in what we strive for and in what we hope will be sincere for Allah and in the path of Allah. Therefore, we should bestow upon such a gathering the same status as the gathering held in the houses of Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He). Perhaps the authentic hadith reported in Sahih Muslim, which states in his (peace and blessings be upon him) words: and he did not say "in a mosque of the mosques," perhaps the expression in this hadith: is more comprehensive than if he (peace and blessings be upon him) had said "in a mosque of the mosques." Therefore, we hope that this house of ours or this house of yours is included in this authentic hadith: .