Inquiring Finally About the Authenticity of This Hadith (Indeed, Allah Does Not Look at the Crooked Row)

The questioner : He inquires finally about the authenticity of this hadith: ?

The Shaykh : Yes, this hadith is not authentic; it is not a sound hadith. However, there is no doubt that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) commanded the straightening of the rows. He (peace and blessings be upon him) would pass by the row, rubbing their chests and shoulders, and ordering them to straighten. One day he came out and they had understood from him the straightening of the rows, so he saw a man whose chest was protruding, meaning he was ahead of the others. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: And in another narration: The meaning is until you become enemies who hate one another. This is a warning for whoever neglects the straightening of the row, and it is evidence for the obligation of straightening, as some scholars have held. What we observe now of negligence in straightening the rows, whether by the imam or the followers, is a matter of regret. Many imams look to the right and left and say: "Straighten up, align yourselves, straighten your rows," and perhaps he sees the row is not straight, yet he does not say: "So-and-so, move forward" or "So-and-so, move back." This leads people to understand that this phrase is like a cylinder on which a needle runs and makes a sound, meaning that this phrase has no value for people now because they do not see an action that confirms this phrase. What is required of the imam is to look to the right and left, to face the people with his face, and if he sees a person lagging behind, to say: "Move forward, so-and-so," or if he sees one ahead, to say: "Move back, so-and-so," so that people feel that this phrase has meaning, namely: "Straighten up, align yourselves." Likewise, the followers find that they do not care if a man is to the right or left of his companion, ahead of him or behind him, and with this, he does not try to straighten the row. This is an error. Also, many imams and many followers have neglected the issue of closing the gaps. You find that there are many gaps in the row that no one fills. This is an error because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) commanded closing the gaps and informed: Some people have misunderstood the fact that the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) would place a man's ankle against his brother's ankle and his shoulder against his shoulder. So he spreads his legs excessively until his ankle touches his brother's ankle, and the space between the shoulders is open to the same extent as the space between the legs. This is also an error. Whoever understands the texts other than their intended meaning is mistaken. The intention is not merely placing the ankle or touching the ankle to the ankle. The intention is closing the gaps so that the ankle touches the ankle and the shoulder touches the shoulder. Touching the ankle to the ankle is not intended for its own sake, but for the sake of closing the gaps and straightening. But the problem is that some people understand something incorrectly, then spread it among people, and it becomes widespread as if it were the Sunnah that the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) intended. Also, many people err in the manner of straightening. Some people think that straightening is the alignment of the fingers, and this is a wrong understanding. Straightening is the alignment of the ankles, meaning that a person's ankle is equal to his neighbor's ankle, not ahead of it or behind it. As for the fingers, a man's leg may be long, so his fingers may be ahead of the fingers of the man whose foot is short, and this does not harm the equality. The equality is by the ankles because the ankle is the support of the body, as it is at the bottom of the lower leg, and the lower leg carries the thigh, and the thigh carries the body. It is not equality by the tips of the fingers, but by the ankles. I repeat this because I have seen many people make the tips of the fingers the criterion for straightening, and this is an error. There is another matter in which the followers often err, which is completing the first row, then the first, especially in the two mosques, the Sacred Mosque and the Prophet's Mosque. They do not care if they pray in groups of four here and four there, or ten here and ten there, or the like. This is undoubtedly contrary to the Sunnah. The Sunnah is to complete the first row, then the first, such that if a man prays alone behind the row while the row is not complete, his prayer is not valid; rather, it is invalid, and he must repeat it. Because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family): If someone says: If I go to the end of the row, I will miss the rak'ah, should I pray alone behind the row to catch the rak'ah? We say: No, go to the end of the row, even if you miss the rak'ah, even if it is the last rak'ah, due to the generality of the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): And you are commanded to complete the first row, then the first, so do what you are commanded to do. What you catch, pray, and what you miss, make up. These are reminders, and I hope that Allah, the Exalted and Glorified, will find attentive ears from our brothers, the imams and the followers. I mentioned them as a comment on the saying ofThe questioner : which is where it is not authentic from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family).

The questioner : May Allah reward you and may Allah reward you with good.