The Importance of Straightening the Rows in Prayer

But this gathering and this closeness in the circle of knowledge also creates a strong bond in the hearts. I want to confirm for you this scientific and legal reality: that Sunnah which most of the imams of the mosques have abandoned and turned away from, and which only those who hold fast to the Sunnah maintain. It is that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) had it as his way and Sunnah that he would not say the takbir of ihram until he had ordered the rows to be straightened, and to straighten them as it came in the hadith, "as if they were straightened cups." He would say to this one, "move forward," and to that one, "move back," until the row became like a solid structure. He would warn them (peace be upon him) and threaten them with words like: Thus, straightening the rows and the opposite of that, each of them affects the heart, either for good or for corruption. So, this also confirms that the outward appearance has an effect on the inward state, even the outward appearances of multiple people, let alone the outward appearance of a person himself. He (peace and blessings be upon him) made the difference among people in the same row, in terms of moving forward and back, a cause for the corruption of hearts, and the opposite is the opposite. Straightening the rows is a legal cause for rectifying what is in the hearts. For this reason, one should pay the utmost attention to rectifying outward appearances, including, when standing up for prayer, straightening the rows as the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) used to straighten them and order them to be straightened. This is a word before that session, which was previously scattered, and now, if Allah wills, as some of us have come closer to each other in body, we hope that the fruit of that will be that our hearts become connected to one another, if Allah wills, Blessed and Exalted is He. This is a word before what may be some of your questions, and I hope they are questions that have not been dealt with much previously. I do not say they have not been dealt with at all, because that is something impossible, but that they are not among the matters that are usually dealt with frequently, because they have become well-known, question and answer. If you have something of what we suggest, please go ahead.