Is it obligatory for the imam to straighten the rows if the right side is longer than the left side?
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The questioner : Sometimes the first section of the row in prayer is longer than the left side, so the imam straightens the row. What is your opinion?
The Shaykh : My opinion is that this is correct. That is, sometimes the ma'mum (those praying behind the imam) come and line up on the right side of the row, and you find thirty men on the right and five or six on the left. This is not befitting, and he should straighten them. This is because the right is better than the left, provided there is equality or closeness, such as one or two men. However, if there is a great disparity, it is not so. Evidence for this is that in the beginning, if there were three people, one would be on the right and one on the left in the first row. Then this was abrogated, and the three would have their imam leading them. This indicates that the right is not better in every case. If it were better in every case, we would say that if there were three people, both men would be on the imam's right. Also, the hadiths encouraging closeness to the imam support this. Therefore, there is no blame on the imam if he alerts the people and says, "If the right row is long, join the left." This is if we say that the hadith "Center the imam" is weak, as is known among scholars. But if it is authentic, the matter is clear that the imam should be centered.
The Shaykh : My opinion is that this is correct. That is, sometimes the ma'mum (those praying behind the imam) come and line up on the right side of the row, and you find thirty men on the right and five or six on the left. This is not befitting, and he should straighten them. This is because the right is better than the left, provided there is equality or closeness, such as one or two men. However, if there is a great disparity, it is not so. Evidence for this is that in the beginning, if there were three people, one would be on the right and one on the left in the first row. Then this was abrogated, and the three would have their imam leading them. This indicates that the right is not better in every case. If it were better in every case, we would say that if there were three people, both men would be on the imam's right. Also, the hadiths encouraging closeness to the imam support this. Therefore, there is no blame on the imam if he alerts the people and says, "If the right row is long, join the left." This is if we say that the hadith "Center the imam" is weak, as is known among scholars. But if it is authentic, the matter is clear that the imam should be centered.