صحيح مسلم
Muslim
كتاب الصلاةThe Book of Prayers
باب تَسْوِيَةِ الصُّفُوفِ وَإِقَامَتِهَا وَفَضْلِ الأَوَّلِ فَالأَوَّلِ مِنْهَا وَالاِزْدِحَامِ عَلَى الصَّفِّ الأَوَّلِ وَالْمُسَابَقَةِ إِلَيْهَا وَتَقْدِيمِ أُولِي الْفَضْلِ وَتَقْرِيبِهِمْ مِنَ الإِمَامِ:Chapter: Straightening The Rows; The Virtue Of The Front Row And Then The Next; Competing With One Another For The Front Row; The People Of Virtue Should Take Precedence And Be Closest To The Imam
حَدَّثَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ رَافِعٍ ، حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ الرَّزَّاقِ ، حَدَّثَنَا مَعْمَرٌ ، عَنْ هَمَّامِ بْنِ مُنَبِّهٍ ، قَالَ : هَذَا مَا حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو هُرَيْرَةَ ، عَنِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ ، فَذَكَرَ أَحَادِيثَ مِنْهَا ، وَقَالَ : " أَقِيمُوا الصَّفَّ فِي الصَّلَاةِ ، فَإِنَّ إِقَامَةَ الصَّفِّ مِنْ حُسْنِ الصَّلَاةِ " .
Hammam bin Munabbih reported: This is what was transmitted to us by Abu Hurairah (RA) from the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) and, while making a mention of a few ahadith, said: (The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) directed us thus): Establish rows in prayer, for the making of a row (straight) is one of the merits of prayer.
Related hadith on this topic
Explanation & Benefits
Shaykh Umar Farooq Saeedi
681. Commentary:
That is, the imam should stand ahead of the rows in such a way that he is in the middle of the congregation (muqtadis), and it should not be that the muqtadis are greater in number on either the right or left side, for in such a case the imam would not remain in the center. The same should be the case for the last row, in which there are only a few individuals; that is, they should not stand at one end of the row, but rather in the middle (with the imam to their right and left), so that the imam remains in the center. However, the first part of this narration is weak, so it can be considered recommended (mustahabb), but not obligatory. As for the second part of the hadith, “Fill the gaps in the rows,” it is authentic, because this command is also established from other ahadith.
That is, the imam should stand ahead of the rows in such a way that he is in the middle of the congregation (muqtadis), and it should not be that the muqtadis are greater in number on either the right or left side, for in such a case the imam would not remain in the center. The same should be the case for the last row, in which there are only a few individuals; that is, they should not stand at one end of the row, but rather in the middle (with the imam to their right and left), so that the imam remains in the center. However, the first part of this narration is weak, so it can be considered recommended (mustahabb), but not obligatory. As for the second part of the hadith, “Fill the gaps in the rows,” it is authentic, because this command is also established from other ahadith.
Source: Sunan Abu Dawood – Commentary by Shaykh Umar Farooq Saeedi, Page: 681
