What is the method for straightening the rows in prayer?
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The questioner : Praise be to Allah, and may peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah. In your book *Al-Irwaa*, in volume two, page seventy-three, you mentioned a report from Ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) regarding the spacing between the feet, which was narrated by al-Nasa'i, al-Bayhaqi, and others, as well as Ibn Abi Shaybah. It is a weak report. Then you compared it with two reports from 'Abdullah ibn al-Zubayr and 'Abdullah ibn 'Umar regarding aligning the feet. So what is the practice in this matter? Or what is the method for standing in prayer: is it spacing the feet or aligning them, given the established weakness of the report of Ibn Mas'ud? May Allah reward you with good.
The Shaykh : Given the establishment of what?
The questioner : The weakness of the report of Ibn Mas'ud?
The Shaykh : There is no established Sunnah regarding the manner in which a Muslim stands in prayer; whether he aligns his feet or spaces them. Rather, the Muslim stands in a manner that does not involve strain. The answer to this question aligns perfectly with my previous note that when a matter is mentioned in general terms, it is not permissible for us to add to it a specific attribute or condition from our own minds. As I discussed regarding the example of taking the hands from the chest to the heart: there is no issue with the placement on the chest due to several hadiths, but taking them in this manner [gesturing] has not been reported, not even in a weak hadith. Likewise, I say regarding standing: nothing authentic has been established regarding the position of standing when a Muslim prays as an imam or alone. However, if he prays as a follower, there is a specific ruling that the majority of worshippers have neglected, which is for each worshipper to place his right foot against the left foot of the person to his right, and vice versa. Here, a gap may appear, which is necessary to achieve this Sunnah that the Companions of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) adhered to. One of them would place his foot against his companion's foot, his knee against his companion's knee, and his shoulder against his companion's shoulder, as stated in *Sahih al-Bukhari* and others. As for the one praying alone or the imam, he stands as is convenient for him, but he should not strain to adopt a specific posture claiming that this is the Sunnah, because the Sunnah is not established except by what is authentic from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), even if it is at the level of a good hadith.
Please proceed.
The Shaykh : Given the establishment of what?
The questioner : The weakness of the report of Ibn Mas'ud?
The Shaykh : There is no established Sunnah regarding the manner in which a Muslim stands in prayer; whether he aligns his feet or spaces them. Rather, the Muslim stands in a manner that does not involve strain. The answer to this question aligns perfectly with my previous note that when a matter is mentioned in general terms, it is not permissible for us to add to it a specific attribute or condition from our own minds. As I discussed regarding the example of taking the hands from the chest to the heart: there is no issue with the placement on the chest due to several hadiths, but taking them in this manner [gesturing] has not been reported, not even in a weak hadith. Likewise, I say regarding standing: nothing authentic has been established regarding the position of standing when a Muslim prays as an imam or alone. However, if he prays as a follower, there is a specific ruling that the majority of worshippers have neglected, which is for each worshipper to place his right foot against the left foot of the person to his right, and vice versa. Here, a gap may appear, which is necessary to achieve this Sunnah that the Companions of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) adhered to. One of them would place his foot against his companion's foot, his knee against his companion's knee, and his shoulder against his companion's shoulder, as stated in *Sahih al-Bukhari* and others. As for the one praying alone or the imam, he stands as is convenient for him, but he should not strain to adopt a specific posture claiming that this is the Sunnah, because the Sunnah is not established except by what is authentic from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), even if it is at the level of a good hadith.
Please proceed.
Source
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