What is the guidance of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in straightening the rows? With an explanation of the weakness of the hadith (Indeed, Allah does not look at the crooked row).

The questioner : May Allah reward you. Although yesterday I noticed the imam, when he was praying Maghrib, that when the iqamah was called, he turned his face toward the worshippers between the iqamah and the takbir of ihram, and gave them a short lecture, perhaps twenty words or so, about straightening the rows. I don't know, I was surprised by it and didn't know what to think.

The Shaykh : Why, may Allah reward you, were you surprised by this?

The questioner : I do not know.

The Shaykh : No, this is a good thing. In reality, this is one of the sunnahs that many people have abandoned. It is established in the authentic Sunnah that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) would not say the takbir after the iqamah of the prayer until he had straightened the rows, just as arrows are straightened. Do you know what arrows are? They are the shafts of spears. He would see a man standing ahead and tell him to step back, and another standing behind and tell him to step forward. He would say: In another narration: And he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: This was the habit of the Messenger (peace be upon him) before he said the takbir of ihram. This is because straightening the rows is among the obligations of the prayer. If the rows are straightened, the prayer is complete. If they are crooked, the prayer is crooked, and its reward is deficient. And he (peace be upon him) said in the authentic hadith: The Messenger stopped at half and did not say all of it, because achieving one hundred percent perfection in prayer is difficult. This is very difficult. Therefore, he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: He does not let his mind wander east and west or as he (peace and blessings be upon him) said. The other hadith is well-known and famous: .
The Shaykh: Therefore, this imam you mentioned is actually bringing us good news, and that the Ummah of Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) is still in a good state. Even though in many mosques you do not see what you saw in that mosque, and few imams care about straightening the rows. Some may say a word of good, and some of them—and as they say, one thing reminds one of another—mention a hadith on this occasion that has no basis from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). After ordering them to straighten the rows, he says to them: And they may say it in their crooked language, the crooked row, the crooked row. This hadith has no basis whatsoever in the books of the Sunnah.

The questioner : It was on my mind to ask you.

The Shaykh : Well, this has no basis. But the hadiths I mentioned earlier are in the authentic books like al-Bukhari and Muslim. And because of the concern of the Rightly Guided Caliphs to follow the Sunnah of the Master of the Messengers, they—and this was specifically in the time of Uthman—appointed a person to straighten the rows in the Prophet's Mosque. Because the people increased in the time of the Caliphs, the mosque was no longer sufficient—do you know that the Prophet's Mosque is still being expanded and expanded according to need?—the first expansion added to the Prophet's Mosque was the expansion of 'Umar ibn al-Khattab, and it is still known in Medina today. Then the expansion of Uthman ibn 'Affan. When the people increased to a number that was not present in the time of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), he appointed a person to straighten the rows. So Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him and grant him satisfaction) would not say the takbir until that agent said that the rows had been completed. That is, he would pass from row to row, like this, from the first to the last. When the rows were straightened, the imam would say: Allahu Akbar. This concern is, unfortunately, very rare today. So what you saw is a sign of good news.

The questioner : I have noticed him many times. When the iqamah is called, he turns to the right and says: "Stand straight, may Allah have mercy on you," or "Straighten up, may Allah have mercy on you," "Be upright, straighten your rows, may Allah have mercy on you," "Fill the gaps," without turning his face to the worshippers.

The Shaykh : It does not contradict.

The questioner : I don't know if the Prophet always faced the worshippers in this manner?

The Shaykh : No, there is nothing in the Sunnah about this or that. Rather, it is according to what is beneficial. In other words, if the people are few and it is sufficient for him to turn to the right and left, he is content with that. But if they are many and he needs to look at the second and third rows, there is no objection at all to him turning to the people and ordering them all to straighten the rows.

The questioner : But he, Shaykh, does not know the row next to him; it is blocked by the second, third, and fourth rows.

The Shaykh : No, it becomes apparent from the heads and the shoulders. Some of it becomes apparent. It is true that he does not see them as he sees the first row, and there is no problem with that, but some of it is distinguished. In any case, this turning, if it is required by need and benefit, is fine.