May the Shaykh be preserved by Allah, what is the ruling on a child who does not distinguish right from wrong, under five years old, standing in a row? And if it is not permissible, is he considered to be breaking the row?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : This questioner, from al-Qassim, says: May the Shaykh be preserved by Allah, what is the ruling on a child who does not distinguish right from wrong, under five years old, standing in a row? And if it is not permissible, is he considered to be breaking the row? And if he is breaking the row, is it obligatory for the imam to move him to the back of the mosque? Please inform us, may Allah preserve you, as this is common in our mosques. May you be rewarded?
The Shaykh : Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and I send prayers and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his Companions. This question contains two issues. The first issue is the standing in a row of this boy who does not distinguish right from wrong. The answer is that his standing in a row is not valid because his prayer is not valid, and whoever’s prayer is not valid, his standing in a row is not valid. Therefore, if two men were present, one of whom advanced to be the imam and the other remained behind with this child who does not distinguish right from wrong, he would be considered a person praying alone whose prayer is not valid, and it is obligatory for him to stand in a row with the imam.
As for the second issue, it is breaking the row. The standing of this child is not considered breaking the row because his distance is short, so he does not break the row. However, it is recommended that the guardians of children not bring such a small child, because he occupies them or occupies the worshippers. Either he plays around while in the row and occupies those around him, or he does not play around, but his guardian is occupied with him. Yes, if dire necessity calls for it, such as there being no one in the house with this small child, or he is only with children whom a person cannot rely on to guard him, and his guardian fears that this child will play with fire or something else, this is a dire necessity, and there is no harm in bringing him. However, he must restrain his harm from the worshippers. Yes.
The questioner : May Allah reward you and bless you.
The Shaykh : Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and I send prayers and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his Companions. This question contains two issues. The first issue is the standing in a row of this boy who does not distinguish right from wrong. The answer is that his standing in a row is not valid because his prayer is not valid, and whoever’s prayer is not valid, his standing in a row is not valid. Therefore, if two men were present, one of whom advanced to be the imam and the other remained behind with this child who does not distinguish right from wrong, he would be considered a person praying alone whose prayer is not valid, and it is obligatory for him to stand in a row with the imam.
As for the second issue, it is breaking the row. The standing of this child is not considered breaking the row because his distance is short, so he does not break the row. However, it is recommended that the guardians of children not bring such a small child, because he occupies them or occupies the worshippers. Either he plays around while in the row and occupies those around him, or he does not play around, but his guardian is occupied with him. Yes, if dire necessity calls for it, such as there being no one in the house with this small child, or he is only with children whom a person cannot rely on to guard him, and his guardian fears that this child will play with fire or something else, this is a dire necessity, and there is no harm in bringing him. However, he must restrain his harm from the worshippers. Yes.
The questioner : May Allah reward you and bless you.