Is there a special virtue in the right side of the first row?

The student : The right side of the row, the right flank of the row, is there any special virtue mentioned regarding it?

The Shaykh : What?
The student : The right flank of the row or the right side of the row, in the first row and the second row.

The Shaykh : Is there a special virtue in it?
The student: Yes.

The Shaykh : We do not know of any authentic hadith; there is no authentic hadith on this. Some hadiths mention it, which Imam al-Mundhiri cited in *al-Targhib* regarding the preference of the right side in the rows; but there is nothing authentic in them, and the matter is derived by reasoning. What I see, and Allah knows best, is that preferring the right side of the row leads to leaving the left side of the row empty. What we know from the authentic Sunnah is from the hadith of Jabir and Jubayr: when Jabir came and stood to the right of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and then Jubayr came and stood to his left, the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) pushed them like this and made them a row behind him. So we understand from this hadith that when three people are present and one of them steps forward to lead them in prayer, they should not lean around him, as is established from Ibn Mas'ud. This was a practice that existed, and then what the hadith of Jabir and Jubayr indicates became established. We understand from this hadith something that many worshippers neglect, especially there in Jordan and Syria. One of them comes and finds the first row is full, so he stands wherever it seems to him, perhaps there by the eastern or western wall, while the imam is here in the middle. Then you find the people, as they say in our country, "give me your hand and walk," so the second person enters and finds someone standing there, so he goes and stands with him, and so on until the prayer ends, and there is no one behind the imam in the second row. So we understand from the hadith of Jabir and Jubayr that just as the first row begins, the second row should begin. That is, the one who comes and finds the first row in front of him complete, and then does not find a gap to enter and fill, stands behind the imam and prays. When the second person comes, he stands to his right. And here is the point: now the second person comes to his left, and so on, like a military formation: right, left, right, left, right, left, until the row is complete. As for preferring the right side, we would leave the left side empty. This is not what we should do, because this is contrary to the hadith of Jabir and Jubayr on one hand; and then we can derive this same ruling from another hadith in Sahih Muslim, where he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: . That is, the second row follows the first row, and the third row follows the second, and so on. So there is no preference for the right side, but rather like this: once to the right and once to the left.
The student : The center of the imam, the hadith ?

The Shaykh : The hadith is weak in its chain, and it is in the weak narrations of Sunan Abu Dawud, except that the practice of the Muslims confirms this meaning.