Source: Fatāwā Amunpuri by Shaykh Ghulam Mustafa Zaheer Amunpuri
If the row (ṣaff) is complete, can a follower stand beside the Imam?
If the row is complete, it is not permissible for a follower (muqtadī) to stand beside the Imam.
Sayyidunā Abū Bakr al-Ṣiddīq رضي الله عنه was once leading the prayer when the Messenger of Allah ﷺ came and sat on his left side:
فَلَمَّا رَآهُ أَبُو بَكْرٍ اسْتَأْخَرَ
“When Abū Bakr رضي الله عنه saw him, he stepped back.”
(Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī: 683; Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: 418)
From this narration, it is understood that a follower should not stand beside the Imam when the row behind him is complete.
This is precisely why Sayyidunā Abū Bakr رضي الله عنه intended to move back upon seeing the Prophet ﷺ.
The Prophet ﷺ indicated for him to remain where he was only because of the specific circumstance at that moment.
“If a follower stands beside the Imam while there is a row behind them, this is makrūh (disliked) according to consensus — that is, according to Imām Abū Ḥanīfah, Imām Abū Yūsuf, and Imām al-Shaybānī.”
(Al-Bināyah Sharḥ al-Hidāyah, 2/342)
❖ Question:
If the row (ṣaff) is complete, can a follower stand beside the Imam?
✿ Answer:
If the row is complete, it is not permissible for a follower (muqtadī) to stand beside the Imam.
Sayyidunā Abū Bakr al-Ṣiddīq رضي الله عنه was once leading the prayer when the Messenger of Allah ﷺ came and sat on his left side:
فَلَمَّا رَآهُ أَبُو بَكْرٍ اسْتَأْخَرَ
“When Abū Bakr رضي الله عنه saw him, he stepped back.”
(Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī: 683; Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: 418)
From this narration, it is understood that a follower should not stand beside the Imam when the row behind him is complete.
This is precisely why Sayyidunā Abū Bakr رضي الله عنه intended to move back upon seeing the Prophet ﷺ.
The Prophet ﷺ indicated for him to remain where he was only because of the specific circumstance at that moment.
❀ ʿAllāmah ʿAynī al-Ḥanafī رحمه الله (d. 855 AH) wrote:
“If a follower stands beside the Imam while there is a row behind them, this is makrūh (disliked) according to consensus — that is, according to Imām Abū Ḥanīfah, Imām Abū Yūsuf, and Imām al-Shaybānī.”
(Al-Bināyah Sharḥ al-Hidāyah, 2/342)
Summary:
- A follower should not stand next to the Imam when there is room in the rows or when the row is already complete.
- Sayyidunā Abū Bakr’s action of stepping back confirms that the Sunnah position of a follower is behind the Imam, not beside him.
- This ruling is supported by the consensus of leading jurists.
