Explanation of the words of Imam al-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) regarding what he quoted: "
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The Shaykh : In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful:
These hadiths point to what the author (may Allah have mercy on him) mentioned previously regarding the honoring of scholars, people of virtue, and the elderly. Among this is the hadith of Abdullah ibn Mas’ud (may Allah be pleased with him), that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) said:Sunan Abi Dawud 674Sahih (Al-Albani) He said that three times. : His statement: : The lam here is for command, and the meaning is that in prayer, it is recommended that those who are mature in intellect and understanding stand in front.
“Those who are mature in intellect” means those who have reached puberty, i.e., the adults. And “al-nuhay” is the plural of “nahiyyah,” which is intellect, meaning the people of intellect. So, those who should stand in front in prayer are the intelligent adults, because they are closer to understanding what the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) says or does, compared to the young ones and the like. Therefore, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) encouraged these people to stand in front so that they are next to the imam.
The meaning of the hadith is not: “No one should stand next to me except those who are mature in intellect and understanding,” such that we drive the children out of the first row, for this is not permissible. It is not permissible to drive the children out of the first row unless they cause harm. If they do not cause harm, then whoever reaches a place first, before anyone else, has the right to it.
And there is a difference between the Prophetic phrase “No one should stand next to me except those who are mature in intellect” and his saying “Let those who are mature in intellect stand next to me.” The second encourages the intelligent adults to move forward, while the first, if it were the text of the hadith, would prohibit anyone who is not an adult or not of sound mind from standing next to the imam.
Based on this, we say: Those who drive the children out of the first row have erred in that they prevented people with rights from their rights, for the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) said: .
And from another angle, they make the children dislike the mosques, meaning that the child begins to shy away from the mosque if he is driven out of it.
And among the harms is that this remains a knot in his heart against the one who drove him out, and you will find that he dislikes him and dislikes mentioning him. So, because of these harms, we say: Do not drive the children out of the front rows.
Then, if we drive them out of the front rows, they will play. If they were all in one row, as some of the scholars say, they would cause enough play to disturb the mosque and the people of the mosque. But if they are with the people in the first row and scattered, that is safer than the chaos that occurs when they gather in one row.
And his statement (peace and blessings be upon him):Sunan Abi Dawud 674Sahih (Al-Albani) : It is derived from this that being close to the imam has a status, that being close to the imam is a desired status. Therefore, he said: “Let them stand next to me,” meaning that they are the ones who stand next to me.
Based on this, we say: If the right side of the row is far, and the left side of the row is clearly closer, then the left row is better than the right one, because of its closeness to the imam. And because when people first started, if there was an imam and two with him, one would be on his right and one on his left, and not both on the right. This indicates consideration of closeness to the imam and the imam being in the middle of the followers.
But this matter—i.e., the imam and two with him being in one row—has been abrogated. And it became so that if the imam has two with him, they stand in a row behind him. But the fact that when it was prescribed, one was placed on the right and the second on the left, indicates that the right side is not absolutely better. Rather, it is better than the left if it is comparable or equal to it. But if it is distinguished by a clear feature, then the left, with its closeness to the imam, is better.
And in the hadith of the dream that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) saw: : In it is also evidence for considering age, and that the older one is given priority in giving something.
And from this, if you serve food, for example coffee, you bring the coffee or the tea, you do not start with the right. Start with the oldest one in front of you, because when the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) wanted to give it to the younger one, he was told, “Give it to the older one.” And it is known that if the younger one had been on the left, the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) would not have gone to give it to him. It appears that he was on the right for the sake of preferring the right, but he was told: “Give it to the older one,” meaning: give it to the older one. So, if people are in front of you, start with the older one, do not start with the right. But if they are sitting on the right and on the left, start with the right.
And with this, the evidence indicating the consideration of age, i.e., respecting the older one, and the consideration of the right, i.e., respecting the right, are combined. We say: If the situation is as it came from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): that he had a vessel from which he was drinking, and on his left were the elders and on his right was Ibn Abbas, so he gave it to Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him), because he was on the right, and he said:. If it is like this, give to the one on your right. But those in front of you, start with the older one, as indicated by the Sunnah. And this is the way to combine them.
Then, if a person gives to the older one, meaning he pours the cup and gives it to the older one, who gives after him? Is it the one on the right of the older one, who is on the left of the pourer, or the one on the right of the pourer?
We say: Start with the one on the right of the pourer, even if he is on the left of the older one, because if we consider preferring the right after respecting the older one, the one on your right is the one on the left of the person opposite you, so you start with him. Unless some of them allow each other, and say: “Give it to so-and-so, give it to so-and-so.” Then the right belongs to them; they have the right to waive it. And Allah knows best.
These hadiths point to what the author (may Allah have mercy on him) mentioned previously regarding the honoring of scholars, people of virtue, and the elderly. Among this is the hadith of Abdullah ibn Mas’ud (may Allah be pleased with him), that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) said:
let those of your who are sedate and prudent be near me, then those who are next to them
ليلني منكم أولو الأحلام والنهي، ثم الذين يلونهمAnd beware of the clamor of the markets
وإياكم وهيشات الأسواقLet me be approached by you.
ليلني منكم“Those who are mature in intellect” means those who have reached puberty, i.e., the adults. And “al-nuhay” is the plural of “nahiyyah,” which is intellect, meaning the people of intellect. So, those who should stand in front in prayer are the intelligent adults, because they are closer to understanding what the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) says or does, compared to the young ones and the like. Therefore, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) encouraged these people to stand in front so that they are next to the imam.
The meaning of the hadith is not: “No one should stand next to me except those who are mature in intellect and understanding,” such that we drive the children out of the first row, for this is not permissible. It is not permissible to drive the children out of the first row unless they cause harm. If they do not cause harm, then whoever reaches a place first, before anyone else, has the right to it.
And there is a difference between the Prophetic phrase “No one should stand next to me except those who are mature in intellect” and his saying “Let those who are mature in intellect stand next to me.” The second encourages the intelligent adults to move forward, while the first, if it were the text of the hadith, would prohibit anyone who is not an adult or not of sound mind from standing next to the imam.
Based on this, we say: Those who drive the children out of the first row have erred in that they prevented people with rights from their rights, for the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) said:
Whoever reaches something before a Muslim reaches it has the greater right to it.
من سبق إلى ما لم يَسبق إليه مسلم فهو أحق بهAnd from another angle, they make the children dislike the mosques, meaning that the child begins to shy away from the mosque if he is driven out of it.
And among the harms is that this remains a knot in his heart against the one who drove him out, and you will find that he dislikes him and dislikes mentioning him. So, because of these harms, we say: Do not drive the children out of the front rows.
Then, if we drive them out of the front rows, they will play. If they were all in one row, as some of the scholars say, they would cause enough play to disturb the mosque and the people of the mosque. But if they are with the people in the first row and scattered, that is safer than the chaos that occurs when they gather in one row.
And his statement (peace and blessings be upon him):
let those of your who are sedate and prudent be near me
ليلني منكم أولو الأحلام والنهيBased on this, we say: If the right side of the row is far, and the left side of the row is clearly closer, then the left row is better than the right one, because of its closeness to the imam. And because when people first started, if there was an imam and two with him, one would be on his right and one on his left, and not both on the right. This indicates consideration of closeness to the imam and the imam being in the middle of the followers.
But this matter—i.e., the imam and two with him being in one row—has been abrogated. And it became so that if the imam has two with him, they stand in a row behind him. But the fact that when it was prescribed, one was placed on the right and the second on the left, indicates that the right side is not absolutely better. Rather, it is better than the left if it is comparable or equal to it. But if it is distinguished by a clear feature, then the left, with its closeness to the imam, is better.
And in the hadith of the dream that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) saw:
He used to use a miswak, and two men came to him, and he wanted to give it to the younger one, but it was said to me: Give it to the elder, give it to the elder.
أنه كان عليه الصلاة والسلام يتسوك ، فجاءه رجلان فأراد أن يعطيه الأصغر، فقيل لي: كبّر كبّرAnd from this, if you serve food, for example coffee, you bring the coffee or the tea, you do not start with the right. Start with the oldest one in front of you, because when the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) wanted to give it to the younger one, he was told, “Give it to the older one.” And it is known that if the younger one had been on the left, the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) would not have gone to give it to him. It appears that he was on the right for the sake of preferring the right, but he was told: “Give it to the older one,” meaning: give it to the older one. So, if people are in front of you, start with the older one, do not start with the right. But if they are sitting on the right and on the left, start with the right.
And with this, the evidence indicating the consideration of age, i.e., respecting the older one, and the consideration of the right, i.e., respecting the right, are combined. We say: If the situation is as it came from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): that he had a vessel from which he was drinking, and on his left were the elders and on his right was Ibn Abbas, so he gave it to Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him), because he was on the right, and he said:
The right-hand ones, the right-hand ones.
الأيمنون الأيمنونThen, if a person gives to the older one, meaning he pours the cup and gives it to the older one, who gives after him? Is it the one on the right of the older one, who is on the left of the pourer, or the one on the right of the pourer?
We say: Start with the one on the right of the pourer, even if he is on the left of the older one, because if we consider preferring the right after respecting the older one, the one on your right is the one on the left of the person opposite you, so you start with him. Unless some of them allow each other, and say: “Give it to so-and-so, give it to so-and-so.” Then the right belongs to them; they have the right to waive it. And Allah knows best.