If a man prays with a group of boys, should he place them behind him or to his right?
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The questioner : May the Shaykh be respected, if I pray with a group of boys, should I stand in front of them or place them to my right?
The Shaykh : Yes, if the ones with you are boys who have not reached puberty, place them behind you, because they form a row; two or more constitute a row. Place them behind you, unless you fear they will play, in which case place them to your right and left. In your statement, "or should I place them to my right," it is implied that you believe that if the followers do not have a row behind them, they should be to the imam's right. This is incorrect. The Sunnah is for them to be to his right and left, because in the early days of Islam, if there were three people, one would stand to the imam's right, the second to his left, and the imam would be in the middle. Then this was abrogated so that the imam stands in front of the two. Do you understand?
As for preferring the right side over the left side absolutely, that is an incorrect and erroneous understanding. Because if the right side of the row were absolutely superior, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) would have said: "Complete the rightmost, then the rightmost," just as he said regarding the first row:. Based on this, we say: if the imam's left and right are equal, the right side is better. However, if there is a difference between them, the left side closer to the imam is better. It is also narrated from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) that he said: .
Furthermore, it is not a scene that reflects justice for all the people to be on the imam's right, with the imam being the last one on the left of the followers. This is not justice.
In summary: many people today, especially those who seek good, are found arranging the row at the farthest point from the right and leaving the nearby left side empty. This is an incorrect understanding, as evidenced by the fact that the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) did not say: "Complete the rightmost, then the rightmost." This is a well-known matter.
The second piece of evidence is that when the three formed a single row, the imam was in the middle of them. If the right side had been better than him, the two followers would have been to his right.
The Shaykh : Yes, if the ones with you are boys who have not reached puberty, place them behind you, because they form a row; two or more constitute a row. Place them behind you, unless you fear they will play, in which case place them to your right and left. In your statement, "or should I place them to my right," it is implied that you believe that if the followers do not have a row behind them, they should be to the imam's right. This is incorrect. The Sunnah is for them to be to his right and left, because in the early days of Islam, if there were three people, one would stand to the imam's right, the second to his left, and the imam would be in the middle. Then this was abrogated so that the imam stands in front of the two. Do you understand?
As for preferring the right side over the left side absolutely, that is an incorrect and erroneous understanding. Because if the right side of the row were absolutely superior, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) would have said: "Complete the rightmost, then the rightmost," just as he said regarding the first row:
Complete the first, then the first
أتموا الأول فالأولPlace the imam in the center
وسطوا الإمامFurthermore, it is not a scene that reflects justice for all the people to be on the imam's right, with the imam being the last one on the left of the followers. This is not justice.
In summary: many people today, especially those who seek good, are found arranging the row at the farthest point from the right and leaving the nearby left side empty. This is an incorrect understanding, as evidenced by the fact that the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) did not say: "Complete the rightmost, then the rightmost." This is a well-known matter.
The second piece of evidence is that when the three formed a single row, the imam was in the middle of them. If the right side had been better than him, the two followers would have been to his right.