Where is the first row in the Sacred Mosque?

The questioner : Where is the first row in the Sacred Mosque?

The Shaykh : Behind the imam, completing the circle.

The questioner : Behind the imam. The other sides approach the wall of the Ka'bah, but on the imam's side, do they prevent people?

The Shaykh : No, I do not believe in what is happening there. I mean, if we were to be precise, though we are not obligated to be precise, the Ka'bah has four corners. If the imam stands in the middle of the eastern wall, that is, between the Black Corner and the Syrian Corner, standing in the center, then between him and that wall is the wall of the Ka'bah, and between him and it, for example, is a meter and a half. That is, by the measure of if he prostrates, there would be a passage for a sheep between him and the wall of the Ka'bah. Then, between this imam and those who stand behind him is the same distance, meaning another meter and a half. So what is that? Three meters. So I said, with reservation: if we are precise, we would say that this row must be a circle that is not uneven in distance from any of the four walls. For example, the Syrian wall, the middle of the row that faces the middle of the wall must also be three meters away from it, and so on. But we do not burden people with this precision. However, they must be careful about such things, and thus all the rows are arranged around the Sacred Mosque. I do not know where they got this from. Did I hear anything they are talking about so that first we would be aware of it? Excuse me, not aware of it, but knowledgeable about it, and then we look. Did I hear something they say, or did we find it this way?

The questioner : No, we have not heard anything, but this is how we find them.

The Shaykh : Yes, that is what we see.
The student : Our Shaykh, we understand from your words that if the imam is behind, because usually he prays on hot days under the broadcast equipment, then if I were opposite him on the other side, I would not pray in a way that I am, as if I were in front of him.

The Shaykh: Yes.
The student : Do I pray in the back rows, on the one that is the first row of the prayer approximately?

The Shaykh : The back rows, how? Behind the imam or opposite him?
The student : No, opposite him.

The Shaykh : Not behind, then, opposite him.
The student : Opposite him, opposite the imam.

The Shaykh: Yes.
The student : So I want to pray by leaving, for example, ten rows, and the eleventh row is opposite the imam?

The Shaykh : Yes, I said earlier a word, fearing that we might be overly strict, because the closer the distance to the Ka'bah, the more possible it is to approximate this distance. But when he prays under these canopies, it is not possible to regulate the matter, but it is an approximation.
The student : I pray, our Shaykh, on the same level under... the arches.

The Shaykh : Yes, there is no obstacle.
The student : So when I pray under the arches, I am with him.

The Shaykh : But I want to say: if you pray, meaning you approach the Ka'bah, there is no objection, but on the condition that the rows are complete, my brother. And this is a problem in the Sacred Mosque; the rows are broken.
The student: Yes.

The Shaykh : That is it.
The student : They do not form a circle except during the times of Hajj, and they form a circle that is not level.

The Shaykh : This comes from the negligence in straightening the rows.