Explanation of the words of Imam al-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) regarding what he quoted: "

The Shaykh : In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
The author (may Allah have mercy on him) stated, in what he quoted from al-Nu'man ibn Bashir (may Allah be pleased with them both), that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: The first sentence is emphasized by three emphatic markers: the implied oath, the lam in "tastawu" (straighten), and the nun of emphasis. This sentence is also emphasized by three emphatic markers: the oath, the lam, and the nun. This means: if you do not straighten your rows, Allah will cause discord between your faces. The scholars (may Allah have mercy on them) differed regarding the meaning of "discord" in the faces. Some said that the meaning is that Allah will cause a physical discord between their faces, a physical discord such that He twists the neck so that this person's face is opposite to that person's face. And Allah is Able to do all things. So He (Mighty and Majestic) turned the children of Adam into apes. He said to them: "Be apes," and they became apes. He is Able to twist a person's neck so that his face is from behind him. This is a physical punishment. And some scholars said: rather, the intended meaning of "discord" is spiritual discord, meaning: discord of the hearts. Because the heart has a direction, if the hearts agree on one direction, much good is achieved in that. And if they differ, the community splits. So the intended meaning of "discord" is discord of the hearts. This interpretation is more correct because it has come in some wordings: And in a narration: And on this basis, the intended meaning of his saying: is: between your viewpoints, and that is through the discord of the hearts. In any case, in this is evidence for the obligation of straightening the rows, and that it is obligatory for the followers to straighten their rows, and that if they do not do so, they have exposed themselves to the punishment of Allah, refuge is sought in Allah. And this statement, which I mean the obligation of straightening the rows, is the correct one. It is obligatory for the imams to look at the row, to look at the row, and if they find in it any crookedness, or advancement, or delay, they should point that out. And the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) sometimes used to walk along the rows straightening them with his noble hand (peace and blessings be upon him), from the beginning of the row to the end. And when the people increased in the time of the Caliphs, 'Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) ordered a man to straighten the rows when the iqamah is called. So when he came and said: "They have straightened," he would begin the prayer. And 'Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him) did the same; he had appointed a man to straighten the people's rows. So when he came and said: "They have straightened," he would begin. And this indicates the care of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and the Rightly Guided Caliphs for straightening the rows. But unfortunately, now the followers do not care about straightening. A person advances or delays and does not care. And perhaps he is straight with his brother in the first rak'ah, but at the prostration, due to the rush, there is advancement or delay, and they do not straighten them when they stand for the second rak'ah. Rather, they remain as they are, and this is an error. The important thing is that it is obligatory to straighten the row. So if someone says: if there is only an imam and one follower, does the imam advance a little, or does he align with the follower? The answer is: he aligns with the follower. Because if there is an imam and a follower, it is one row; it is not possible for the follower to be behind the imam alone. Rather, they are one row, and one row is straightened. This is contrary to what some scholars said: that the imam advances a little, because there is no evidence for that. Rather, the evidence is for the opposite, which is that he straightens between the imam and the follower if they are two. Then he said in a narration: he said: The "qidadh" are the feathers of the arrow. And they used to straighten them perfectly so that nothing advanced over anything, like a comb being straight. As if he is straightening them with the qidadh. This means: we understood and knew that straightening is necessary. He went out one day and saw a man whose chest was protruding, so he said: So this indicates the reason for the saying of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him): That the reason was that he saw a man whose chest was protruding only because his chest was slightly ahead of the row. So this indicates that from the way of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) is that he checks the row, and that he threatens the one who advances with this threat. So I hope from you, O brothers, that you convey this issue to your imams and to your followers so that the matter becomes clear to them and is clarified, and so that there is no negligence among the people. And success is from Allah.