Is it permissible for children who do not pray to be in the row for prayer?
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The questioner : My Shaykh, may Allah bless you: In one of the mosques, there is a circle for the boys.
The Shaykh : Qur'an?
The questioner : Qur'an, and the children come next to their parents on the basis that they are not messing around with each other, so I do not know the ruling in that, because they break up the row?
The Shaykh : I mean: the summary of your question: Is it permissible for the children to be in the row?
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Answer: Yes, it is permissible for the children to be in the row and not break up the row, because they are human beings, not stones and not pillars, so they do not break up the rows, and it is not permissible for anyone to remove them from their place either, even if they are exactly behind the imam in the first row, for it is not lawful for anyone to remove them from their place, because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:, and because removing them and driving them from this place leads to their hatred of the mosque and the people of the mosque, and because driving them from that leads to enmity arising between their fathers and the one who drove them, and because removing them from that leads to them—the children—gathering in one row, so their disturbance and preoccupation of the people would be more severe.
And as for the saying of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him):Sunan an-Nasa'i 812Sahih (Darussalam) it is, by Allah, upon the eye and the head, and above every one who has a saying other than the saying of Allah (Mighty and Majestic), but what is the meaning of the hadith?
Did the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) say: "Let not one stand next to me except those of discretion and understanding," until we say: Drive these people away?
The meaning: that those of discretion and understanding must advance so that they are the ones who stand next to him, so there is a difference between saying: "Let not one stand next to me except those of discretion," and saying: "Let those of discretion stand next to me."
The Shaykh : Qur'an?
The questioner : Qur'an, and the children come next to their parents on the basis that they are not messing around with each other, so I do not know the ruling in that, because they break up the row?
The Shaykh : I mean: the summary of your question: Is it permissible for the children to be in the row?
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Answer: Yes, it is permissible for the children to be in the row and not break up the row, because they are human beings, not stones and not pillars, so they do not break up the rows, and it is not permissible for anyone to remove them from their place either, even if they are exactly behind the imam in the first row, for it is not lawful for anyone to remove them from their place, because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
Whoever takes a place before a Muslim has taken it, he has the greater right to it.
من سبق إلى ما لم يسبق إليه مسلم فهو أحق بهAnd as for the saying of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him):
Let those who are mature and wise stand closest to me
ليليني منكم أولو الأحلام والنهىDid the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) say: "Let not one stand next to me except those of discretion and understanding," until we say: Drive these people away?
The meaning: that those of discretion and understanding must advance so that they are the ones who stand next to him, so there is a difference between saying: "Let not one stand next to me except those of discretion," and saying: "Let those of discretion stand next to me."