What is the ruling on one who delays a child and brings forward an older brother in the rows of prayer? What is the legal ruling in that?

The questioner : I saw, as we were preparing for prayer, one of the older brothers delaying a boy or a young man and bringing forward an older brother. What is the ruling of the Shari'ah in that?

The Shaykh : The answer is connected to some of the previous answers. There is a hadith in Sunan Abu Dawud that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), when he stood to pray, would bring forward the men, then the boys behind them, then the women. However, this hadith has Shahr ibn Hawshab in its chain, and he is a man of weakness in his memorization. But the practical Sunnah upon which the Muslims have proceeded matches this hadith whose chain is weak. Then we do not lack some textual hadiths that detail, or practically apply, the authentic hadith, which is his saying (peace and blessings be upon him): And there is no doubt that the young boys are not understood by anyone to be included in those covered by this hadith . Rather, this hadith does not include older men if they are not distinguished by their knowledge, their understanding, and their intellect over the others. So this hadith contains a strong hint to that classification which the previous hadith narrated for us. Then one of the well-known Companions for his knowledge and virtue, whom I mean is Abu ibn Ka'b (may Allah be pleased with him), applied this hadith. One day the prayer was established, and he moved to the first row and delayed a boy who was there, or a young man—I do not remember the exact wording—he delayed him and placed himself in his place. After the prayer, he turned to this young man, as if offering him an excuse for what he had done to him, and he narrated to him this hadith that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to say: So he said to the young man, "You are not among these, and I did what I did in obedience to the hadith of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)." This is the answer to the question.

The questioner : Did your opinion previously differ from this?

The Shaykh : I do not remember my opinion having differed. But the matter is easy. As they say in Syria, "Today is not yesterday." Our knowledge at this hour may differ from one hour to another. The Muslim does not remain static; rather, he changes and transforms. He may be bad and become good, or he may be good and become bad. The important thing is that he changes for the better. As for what it was before, that is not what concerns us. And as came from 'Umar ibn al-Khattab, he was asked about an inheritance issue, and he was asked, and it was said to him, "Your answer in the coming year was different from this." He said, "That was according to what we said then, and this is according to what we say now."

The questioner : May Allah reward you with good, our Shaykh.