Sharʿī Ruling on a Small Child Looking Around in the Prayer Row
Source: Aḥkām wa Masāʾil – Bāb al-Ṣalāh, Vol. 1, p. 169
Question:
If a child of four or five years stands with his father for prayer in congregation, and during the prayer the child keeps looking around and the alignment of the row is disturbed—what is the ruling in this case?
Answer:
Al-ḥamdu lillāh, waṣ-ṣalātu wa-s-salāmu ʿalā Rasūlillāh, ammā baʿd!
The father should train the child beforehand that:
- In prayer, one must stand respectfully within the row.
- During prayer, one should not look here and there.
If, despite such training, the child looks around during the prayer:
- Then merely by looking around, no sharʿī defect or invalidation occurs in the row.
However, if:
- The child completely leaves the row and is no longer part of it,
- Then the other worshippers should step forward to correct and fill the row.
This is similar to the case where if an adult worshipper’s wuḍūʾ breaks and he leaves the row, the remaining worshippers close the gap. The same should be done in the case of a child.
Hādhā mā ʿindī, wallāhu aʿlam bi-ṣ-ṣawāb.
