Bukhari

Hadith Commentary:
Imam Bukhari rahimahullah has cited this hadith to establish the obligation (wujub) of straightening the rows, because abandoning a Sunnah cannot be described as opposing the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, and opposing the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, according to the explicit text of the Qur’an, is a cause of punishment.

﴿فَلْيَحْذَرِ الَّذِينَ يُخَالِفُونَ عَنْ أَمْرِهِ أَنْ تُصِيبَهُمْ فِتْنَةٌ أَوْ يُصِيبَهُمْ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ﴾ ( an-Nur: 63)

It is stated in Tasheel al-Qari that in our times, people have abandoned straightening the rows in accordance with the Sunnah; sometimes it happens that they stand in a disorderly manner, ahead and behind, and even when they do straighten the rows, they do not join shoulder to shoulder and ankle to ankle.

Rather, they consider doing so to be improper.

May Allah’s curse be upon their intellect and their so-called civility.

Those who pray are the armies of the Lord.

Whoever in the army does not adhere to discipline is deserving of severe punishment.

(Maulana Waheed al-Zaman, may Allah have mercy on him)

Hadith Commentary:
(1)
From this hadith, Imam Bukhari rahimahullah has established the obligation (wujub) of forming rows (saff bandi) during prayer, because Anas radi Allahu anhu objected to the abandonment of forming rows, and objection is sometimes made upon the abandonment of an obligation (wajib) and sometimes upon the abandonment of a Sunnah. Imam Bukhari rahimahullah has described its abandonment as a sin, and regarding forming rows, there is a command (amr) from the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, and his command is for obligation. There is also a warning (wa'id) for its abandonment, as has been made clear from previous ahadith. Thus, the command regarding forming rows is accompanied by a warning. From all these indications, it becomes clear that the objection of Anas radi Allahu anhu upon its abandonment is an objection upon the abandonment of an obligation. However, it is such an obligation that its abandonment does not invalidate the prayer, because despite Anas radi Allahu anhu objecting to their abandonment, he did not tell them to repeat their prayers. Besides this, Umar radi Allahu anhu struck the foot of Uthman Nahdi with a whip for abandoning the formation of rows. And it is also established from Bilal radi Allahu anhu that he used to strike those who did not form rows. From all these reports and indications, it becomes clear that, according to Imam Bukhari rahimahullah, forming rows during prayer is obligatory, and abandoning it makes a person sinful. (Umdat al-Qari: 4/359)

(2)
In the ahadith, three instances of admonition from Anas radi Allahu anhu regarding prayer at different times have been narrated:
* Abu Umamah says that we performed the Zuhr prayer with Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz rahimahullah, and after that we went to Anas radi Allahu anhu, and he was performing the Asr prayer. We asked, "Which prayer have you performed?" He replied, "This is the Asr prayer, and with the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, we used to perform the Asr prayer at this very time." Thus, he admonished regarding the delay of Zuhr, that it should not be performed so late that the time of Asr arrives. (Sahih al-Bukhari, Mawaqit al-Salat, Hadith: 549) At that time, Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz rahimahullah was the governor of Madinah.
* When Anas radi Allahu anhu came to Madinah from Basrah, people asked him, "In view of the blessed era of the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, have you seen anything among us that is strange or unusual?" He replied, "I have not seen anything in particular, except that you do not form rows during prayer." (Sahih al-Bukhari, al-Adhan, Hadith: 724)
* Anas radi Allahu anhu once said, "Now I do not see anything remaining from the blessed era of the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam." It was said, "But prayer remains." He replied, "What have you done to prayer! That is, you have made many changes in it as well." (Sahih al-Bukhari, Mawaqit al-Salat, Hadith: 529) The details of this narration are as follows: Imam Zuhri rahimahullah visited Anas radi Allahu anhu in Damascus and saw that he was weeping. He asked the reason for his weeping, and he replied, "The things I saw in the blessed era of the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, now apparently only prayer remains among them, but even that has been neglected, meaning it is performed after its prescribed time by delaying it." (Sahih al-Bukhari, Mawaqit al-Salat, Hadith: 530)