Forming Prayer Rows Between Columns: Rulings and Scholarly Evidence

(Excerpt from “Ṣaff Bandi ke Aḥkām wa Masā’il” by Shaykh Ghulam Mustafa Zaheer Amunpuri)

✿ Forming a Row Between the Columns​

When needed, it is permissible to form rows between the columns. ʿAbdul Ḥamīd bin Maḥmūd رحمه الله narrates:


Arabic Text:
كنا مع أنس بن مالك في الصف، فرموا بنا حتى ألقينا بين السواري، فتأخر، فلما صلى قال: قد كنا نتقي هذا على عهد رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم.


Translation:
“We were standing in a row with Anas bin Mālik رضي الله عنه. People pushed us until we ended up between the pillars. He (Anas) then moved back. After the prayer he said: ‘During the time of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, we would avoid praying between the pillars.’”


References:

Reference: Musnad Aḥmad: 3/104

;

Reference: Sunan Abī Dāwūd: 673

;

Reference: Sunan al-Nasā’ī: 820

;

Reference: Sunan al-Tirmidhī: 229

;

Reference: al-Sunan al-Kubrā lil-Bayhaqī: 3/104

;

Reference: al-Mustadrak lil-Ḥākim: 1/210

Its chain is ḥasan.


Imām Tirmidhī رحمه الله declared it ḥasan.
Imām Ibn Khuzaymah (1568), Imām Ibn Ḥibbān (2218), and Imām Ḥākim (1/218) رحمهُم اللہ declared it ṣaḥīḥ, and Ḥāfiẓ Dhahabī رحمه الله concurred.
Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Ḥajar رحمه الله also graded the chain as ṣaḥīḥ.

Reference: Fatḥ al-Bārī: 1/578

✿ Statement of Imām al-Tirmidhī رحمه الله​

Arabic Text:
قد كره قوم من أهل العلم أن يصف بين السواري، وبه يقول أحمد، وإسحاق وقد رخص قوم من أهل العلم في ذلك.


Translation:
“A group of scholars disliked forming rows between the pillars. This is the view of Imām Aḥmad and Imām Isḥāq رحمهُم اللہ. However, another group of scholars has granted concession in this matter.”

Reference: Sunan al-Tirmidhī, under ḥadīth: 229

✿ Statement of ʿAbdullāh bin Masʿūd رضي الله عنه​

Arabic Text:
لا تصفوا بين السواري.


Translation:
“Do not form rows between the pillars.”

Reference: al-Sunan al-Kubrā lil-Bayhaqī: 3/104 — chain is ṣaḥīḥ

✿ Statement of Ibn al-Munḏir رحمه الله (d. 319H)​

Arabic Text:
لو اتقی مني كان حسنا، ولا مأتم عندي على فاعله.


Translation:
“Avoiding it is better, but there is no sin upon the one who does it.”

Reference: al-Awsat: 4/184

✿ Statement of ʿAllāmah Ibn al-ʿArabī رحمه الله​

Arabic Text:
لا خلاف في جواز الصف بين السواري عند الضيق، وأما مع السعة؛ فهو مكروه للجماعة، فأما الواحد؛ فلا بأس به، وقد صلى النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم في الكعبة بين سواريها.


Translation:
“There is no difference of opinion regarding the permissibility of forming a row between the pillars when there is crowding. However, when there is ample space, it is disliked for the congregation. For an individual, there is no harm. The Prophet ﷺ prayed inside the Kaʿbah between its two pillars.”

Reference: ʿĀriḍat al-Aḥwadhī: 2/28

✔ Conclusion​

This dislike (karāhah) is tanzīhī (mildly disliked).
Under necessity, there is no harm in forming rows between the pillars.