The Forgotten Sunnah

[SilentAssassin]

Straightening the Rows, Standing Shoulder to Shoulder & Feet to
Feet
In the Congregational Prayer.

Compiled by Abu Bakr al-Kashmiri

All praise belongs to Allah and may the Peace and blessings be upon
our master, Muhammad sall Allahu `alayhi wa sallam, his family, his
companions and all those follow in his footsteps until the last
day.

The prayer is an act of worship that a Muslim performs from sunrise
to sunset, the prayer is a pillar of Islam, the foundation of
belief, the chief of good deeds and the best act of obedience to
Allah, for that reason it is vital that we perform this act of
worship to the best of our abilities and most importantly according
to the Sunnah of our beloved Prophet Muhammad sall Allahu `alayhi wa
sallam, whom was sent down with the best guidance for mankind.

Straightening the rows, standing shoulder to shoulder and joining
the feet in the congregation prayer, is a pre-requisite that one
must do in order to prayer correctly and completely, according to
the Sunnah.

This is a Sunnah that unfortunately has been lost in many of our
Masjid's if not most of them, and the prayer has become an act of
custom and ritual, rather than an act of worship.

Standing before the Lord Almighty, the King of all Kings, one must
strive his utmost to firmly adhere to the authentic Sunnah, and to-
do just as the best of creation did, as he sall Allahu `alayhi wa
sallam is the best example for mankind.

In this short article I would like to bring to the attention of the
reader a few hadith, from the authentic Sunnah, in order to shed
light upon this very important matter. I don't intend to go into
depths nor dwell in to the fiqhi issues of these hadith, for those
more serious students of knowledge they may refer to the reference
of the hadith's provided herein.

THE IMPORTANCE OF STRAIGHTENING ROWS

Straightening the rows in the congregational prayer is a vital part
of the prayer, and it is the completeness of the prayer, which is
not practised today in most Masjids, just as in the time of Anas
bin Malik when he arrived at Madina, as the full hadith states:

Narrated by Anas bin Malik radi Allahu `anhu who arrived at al-
Madina and was asked whether He found any changes since the days of
Allah's Messenger sall Allahu `alayhi wa sallam He said, " I have
not found any change except that you do not straighten the row for
Salat (prayer). Sahih al-Bukhari # 724

And in another Narrated an-Nu'man bin Bashir radi Allahu `anhu
reports, The Prophet sall Allahu `alayhi wa sallam said, "
Straighten your rows or Allah will alter your faces" Reported by
Sahih al-Bukhari # 717

This hadith of the messenger of Allah sall Allahu `alayhi wa sallam
contains a warning if the rows are not straightened in the
congregational prayer Allah will alter the faces of the people.
This is a strong warning against all those who do not straighten
their row in the congregational prayer. And in another narration
Allah will cause division in your hearts. This shows the importance
of straightening the rows in the payer. In light of the current
climate where our fellow Muslim brother and sister are fighting each
other and the calls for Unity are being called from the East to the
West, this is one of those practical steps towards Unity of the
Muslims, in the best acts of worship.

There are many other hadith on this issue, however I have not chosen
to state them except the hadith's from the two famous and unarguable
authorities Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih al-Muslim. Below are a few
more hadith on the same issue which are clear and do not need any
explanation, for those of us whom want to practice the Sunnah
sincerely to gain the pleasure of Allah.

Narrated by Anas radi Allahu `anhu that the Prophet sall
Allahu `alayhi wa sallam Said, "Straighten your rows, for I see you
from behind my back" Reported by Sahih al-Bukhari # 718

Also Narrated Anas ibn Malik radi Allahu `anhu Once the Iqama was
pronounced and Allah's Messenger Allahu `alayhi wa sallam faced us
and said, "Straighten your rows and stand closer together, for I see
you from behind my back ". Reported by Sahih al-Bukhari # 719

And Narrated an-Numan bin Bashir radi Allahu `anhu The Messenger of
Allah Allahu `alayhi wa sallam used to straighten our own rows as if
he were straightening an arrow with their help until he saw that we
had learnt from him. One day he came out, stood up (for prayer) and
was about to say (Allah hu akbar) Allah is the Greatest when he saw
a man, whose chest was bulging out from the row, so he
said "Servants of Allah you must straighten your rows or Allah would
create disagreement amongst you." Reported by Sahih al-Muslim # 473

STANDING SHOULDER TO SHOULDER & FEET TO FEET

Standing shoulder to should and feet to feet, is a Sunnah very
rarely seen today, and it is a Sunnah that is looked down upon at
many of our Masjids, here are two hadith's which are clear and
straight to the point.

An-Nu'man bin Bashir said, "I saw that every one of us used to put
his heel with the heel of his Companion". Reported by Sahih al-
Bukhari

At this point I would like to bring to the attention of the reader,
that alhmdulliah there are a few Masjid where standing shoulder to
should and feet to feet is practised, but not to full extent. Some
of our brothers and sisters do join there feet, but only tips of
there feet and not the full heel as the hadith indicates above.

Most people think that by touching the toes or the tips of ones feet
with the feet of there companion they have completed the Sunnah,
however that is incorrect and the correct manner is that one joins
the full length of ones foot with his companion. The best way is
to have your feet facing the qibla directly, and not to the left nor
to the right, but straight ahead to the direction of the qibla, and
by joining the ankle with the ankle of ones companion and the full
length of the feet joined with the feet one ones companion, is the
correct way to implement this Sunnah.

In a Narration Anas bin Malik radi Allahu `anhu reported, The
Prophet sall Allahu `alayhi wa sallam said, "Straighten your rows
for I see you from behind my back." Anas added, "Every one of us
used to put his shoulder with the shoulder of his companion and his
foot with the foot of his companion." Reported by Sahih al-Bukhari
# 725

One of the other misconceptions that occurs in the prayer is where
brothers and sisters extend there feet out, so that the feet join
with the feet of there companion but there shoulders to do meet or
touch each other, this is also incorrect.

The correct manner is that one has his or her feet at the width of
there shoulders, by doing this ones feet and shoulder will join the
feet and the shoulders of there companions and that is a pre-
requisite that we must adhere to, for the completeness of the
prayer. And Allah knows best.

If there is something good that has come as a result of this article
it is from Allah and any evil is from my self. All Praise is for
Allah, Lord of the Worlds.

[SilentAssassin]

I got this e-mail from an islamic friend and thought that i ought to share it with the brothers and sisters because it is a very important issue among the ummah today.

[chacha_jalebi]

mashallah, our imam in d mosque alwyz says striaghten rows :p

[amirah_87]

I HATE IT IN SOME MASAAJID , WHEN YOU PUT YOUR FEET NEXT TO SUM 1 AND THEN THEY MOVE IT AWAY...AND THEN YOU MOVE AGAIN AND THEN THEY MOVE IT EVEN FURTHER..:heated:

nice post...!!

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[chacha_jalebi]

:p lol erm .....:rollseyes u sud jus step on der foot

[amirah_87]

i've tried every trick in the book trust me.......:heated:

[SilentAssassin]

This "firgotten sunnah" needs tio be restored to the ummah immediately as our prayer's look "divided", i.e. you walk into a mosque and look at the congregation and there are plenty of gaps between the feet of the muslims.

I have noticed that if you go into a ahle-hadith mosque(or salafi mosque) this sunnah is often practised.

[amirah_87]

yeah true say akhee..........also another thing that is forgotten is:

that it's sunnah to keep you shoes on in the masjid...(you have to look at the back of your shoes firstthough!!)
ppl nowadays care about their carpets too much!!!!

[SilentAssassin]

Insaa'ala at least the people are praying in the mosques. Masha'ala what a beautiful sight it is when you go in to a mosque and there are 2,3 even more rows of Allah's believers praying.

[amirah_87]

ma'shaALLAH...yeah!!.......may allah guide this ummah!

[Pk_#2]

:p lol erm .....:rollseyes u sud jus step on der foot

Don't b silly bruv!! :rollseyes

Jazakhala 4 post :)

[Mawaddah]

I HATE IT IN SOME MASAAJID , WHEN YOU PUT YOUR FEET NEXT TO SUM 1 AND THEN THEY MOVE IT AWAY...AND THEN YOU MOVE AGAIN AND THEN THEY MOVE IT EVEN FURTHER..:heated:

nice post...!!

OMG Princess you're quoting me exactly, I't ssooooooooooooooo frustrating!!!:grumbling , and then it's just like we're playing "slide along tag" in salaat or something like that :lol: cause when you move closer, then slide further away, and it' goes on and on........
They act like the person next to them has a disease or something :rant: I remmeber when I prayed in Masjid nabawi...the sisters there were praying in one row, but soooooooo far apart, until some of them even had a distance of one foot between them!! so sad :(

And the old ladies dont listen to you either you know when you talk to them, they look at you like you're retarded :offended:

[amirah_87]

LOOOOOOOOOOOOL!!
i know Maw , in one of our lessons with um salamah.."umdat" that came up , and she said that also occurs in the haram..and ppl were advised to stop followin' the other persons foot because ..it messes up your khushuu3....wallaahu a3lam

[SilentAssassin]

Only Allah knows but the people who do not follow this sunnah have strayed from Al-Mualim and have no answer for what they are doing.

[amirah_87]

It's Mainly Pure "jahal" Akhee..(ignorance)!!

[Dhulqarnaeen]

OMG Princess you're quoting me exactly, I't ssooooooooooooooo frustrating!!!:grumbling , and then it's just like we're playing "slide along tag" in salaat or something like that :lol: cause when you move closer, then slide further away, and it' goes on and on........
They act like the person next to them has a disease or something :rant: I remmeber when I prayed in Masjid nabawi...the sisters there were praying in one row, but soooooooo far apart, until some of them even had a distance of one foot between them!! so sad :(

And the old ladies dont listen to you either you know when you talk to them, they look at you like you're retarded :offended:

:sl:
Ooh...its also happen in everywere??? :? I thought its only in Indonesia which happen like that ;D . I always try to push down my emotion when starting jamaah prayer. Its lucky if someone beside me is someone who know how to stand in a row correctly, then our foots will be join together. But its really annoying, and truely make me upset if beside me standing a man who dont know how to stand in shaff, and I always have to tell them "here, lets dense the shaff" and then with a sullen face he just moved his feet a little to mine :grumbling yaa Allah, if he was my bro I will knock his head :rant: . And after that then I cant do anything cause if I force him to get closer then Im afraid of mufsadat it would bring. Cause I ever heard my friends father, once his father came to him and told him "mad (his name is Muhammad)...when I prayed in the masjid jst now, theres a man who touched his feet to mine. And then I moved my feet away from his, and then he came closer again, and I moved again and then he was just like run after my feet, so I just step on his foot hard and then he just pull his feet back", ;D

If my feet ever stepped by someone what will I do Im wondering? :rollseyes. I know theres many times happen like this. But maybe they wont step on my feet cause theyre afraid of my beard ;D But its really annoying really. Im just wondering HOW they can make a Islamic government? while they still cant stand in shaff corectly, yes some people just truely egnorant. BUt its also because theres hadits dloif concerning the shaff so they put distance between the shaff.

And if talking about sunnah thats forgotten (sunnah madrukah), I think its alot :rollseyes . Example sunnah in masjid, since we came to masjid and say du'a entering masjid, its best to remember more dua its even better. I know a du'a "Audhubillahil azhim bi wajhihil kareem bi sulthonihil qodiim minasshaitonirrajim", I think this du'a is rarely known by muslims, dont you think? :brother: . Cause most muslim just remember du'a :"Allahumaftahli abwaba rahmatiik".
Oh and yes salah with sandals, but I heard fatawa from syaikh Uthaymeen if the masjid have carpets then we should leave the sandal, if Im not mistaken. Check again the fatawa please. But in my country, yaa Allah if I EVER step my sandal on the masjid floor then Im sure they will throw me away out of the masjid :rant: :uhwhat althought I would like to try to salah with my sandals on. I never salah with my sandal on :rollseyes how to sit between sujud then? :rollseyes please somebody tell me. And should be with a clean sandal right?
And theres one sunnah thats almost forgotten even in Saudi, I ever read that syaikh Albani ever lead people to come to the qubr in Madinah and pray mayit in there. Masha Allah its really sunnah madrukah. And they have to face the guard ;D But then the guard let them pray masha Allah. I never see someone do salah mayit on the qubr, do U? Can you tell me the daleel on this sis mawaddah? Or anybody?:X

[jkr]

Thanks,i didnt even know there is something like that.I know the shoulder one but never heard of the feet one.

[...]

Jazakhallah khair bro. :)

[SilentAssassin]

As we are on the subject of the "forgotten sunnah" i really do not like it when i enter a mosqe for prayer and i join the congregation and when it comes to the point when the muslims are supposed to say "Aameen" hardly any one says it. Apart from the ahle-hadith mosques where i usually pray, sometimes when i have to pray in other mosques i am the only one who says aameen in one loud voice.

[MinAhlilHadeeth]

yeah true say akhee..........also another thing that is forgotten is:

that it's sunnah to keep you shoes on in the masjid...(you have to look at the back of your shoes firstthough!!)
ppl nowadays care about their carpets too much!!!!

It is?

[Mawaddah]

:sl:
Ooh...its also happen in everywere??? :? I thought its only in Indonesia which happen like that ;D .

If my feet ever stepped by someone what will I do Im wondering? :rollseyes. I know theres many times happen like this. But maybe they wont step on my feet cause theyre afraid of my beard ;D But its really annoying really. Im just wondering HOW they can make a Islamic government? while they still cant stand in shaff corectly, yes some people just truely egnorant. BUt its also because theres hadits dloif concerning the shaff so they put distance between the shaff.

And theres one sunnah thats almost forgotten even in Saudi, I ever read that syaikh Albani ever lead people to come to the qubr in Madinah and pray mayit in there. Masha Allah its really sunnah madrukah. And they have to face the guard ;D But then the guard let them pray masha Allah. I never see someone do salah mayit on the qubr, do U? Can you tell me the daleel on this sis mawaddah? Or anybody?:X

You make me laugh you know Bro , Someone scared of your beard? I've never heard someone else come up with that possibility lol. But yes this problem happens eeeeeeeeeeeeverywhere, pretty sad actually.

But yes there are hadeeth which state that Rasulullah prayed Salaat Janaazah on the grave, I can't remember the exact wordings right now, but remember the hadeeth about the Lady who used to clean the masjid? then one day she didn't come, and Rasulullah asked his companions about her, and they informed him that she had passed away. So he got upset that they didn't tell him about her passing away, and asked them why didn't they do so? So they said that they thought she was an insignificant person.....and not enough to bother the Prophet about her death. So then the Prophet asked where she was buried, and the Sahaabah informed him, and he went and prayed on her Grave.

But I remember in Yemen the funerals were always prayed at the grave (remember the 'death' seasons Princess? :( summer time.....all those babies ).

There are other Hadeeth but I can't recall them right now.

But anyway we're going off topic!! this is about at-Taraassi bayn as-sufoof , not praying on the grave :D

[Mawaddah]

It is?

Yes it is sis :) There is a hadeeth, I can't remember exactly who is the Sahabi now though.....I think it's Ibn Abbas? I can't remember :X (I'm really bad at names you know ) Well he said that " I have never seen Rasululllah pray without his sandals "

And the daleel on that they have to be clean, is the hadeeth in which Rasululllah peace be upon him was praying with his shoes whilst leading prayer, and then in the midst of prayer he removed his shoes, and the remaining congregation, when they saw him doing so, removed their shoes also. So after the prayer he turned to them and informed them that he had merely removed his shoes in salaat because Jibreel informed him that there was filth on his shoes.

But yes it's most definitely sunnah :)

I hear that some shuyuukh like Bin Baaz and Ibn Uthaimeen argue that if there is fear that the carpet will be soiled, then leave the shoes off. But Others like Sheikh Muqbil rahimahullah say that the carpet is no excuse for taking off the shoes. He says which do we put precedence over? The carpet? Or the risk of Rasulullahs sunnah dying out? .....
As long as people take care to clean their shoes then there is no fear of them soiling the carpet is there?
Really......I have never seen a masjid in which people practised this sunnah, besides Sheikh Muqbils masjid in Yemen Subhanallah.
And I follow his opinion Insha'allah.

[Malaikah]

:sl:

er but sis when you think about it.... if you have to take the shoes off when they get dirty, then what are you going to do if the carpet gets dirty? take the carpet off?:?

and who wants to put their head on a dirty carpet... plus different people will have different ideas of what clean shoes are, and maybe sometimes someone who usually just goes in with their shoes might not notice that the shoes are actually dirty and might just walk right in..

i dont know.. just my thoughts

[amirah_87]

It is?

yeah as-sheikh Muqbil (rahimahullah) wrote a risaalah on the whole topic!!!

[amirah_87]

:sl:

er but sis when you think about it.... if you have to take the shoes off when they get dirty, then what are you going to do if the carpet gets dirty? take the carpet off?:?

and who wants to put their head on a dirty carpet... plus different people will have different ideas of what clean shoes are, and maybe sometimes someone who usually just goes in with their shoes might not notice that the shoes are actually dirty and might just walk right in..

i dont know.. just my thoughts

ASS SALAAMU ALAYKUM WA RAHMATULLAH
THATS WHY THE PROPHETS (SAW) SAID :BUT...LOOK BENEATH YOUR SHOES BEFORE YOU ENTER.....
"CLEAN".........HERE MEANS SUMTHING THAT HAS'NT GOT NAJAASHA ON IT , SUCH AS DOG POOP AND ETC..........
AS FOR MUD AND ALL IT'S NOT CONSIDERED AS "A DIRTY SUBSTANCE"...BUT IT'S BEST IF THEY SHAKE IT OFF BEFORE ENTERIN'...
THERE'S A HADEETH THAT THE PROPHET SALLALAAHU 3ALAHYI WASSALAM SAID....(BY MEANING!!)...IT RAINED THE NIGHT BEFORE SO THE FLOOR OF THE MASJID WAS STIIL DAMP FROM THE RAIN AND MOIST....SO THEY PRAYED ON IT ANYWAY ..AND THE PROPHET SALLALAAHU 3ALAYHI WASSALAM STATED HOW WHEN THEY FINISHED THE SALAH..HE COULD SEE THE MUD PRINTED ON THE FOREHEADS OF HIS FELLOW COMPANIONS....(IT'S A SAHEEH HADEETH)..............
AND ALAH KNOWS BEST!! :) :)

WA KHAYR AL-HADY , HADY MUHAMMED !!

[Dhulqarnaeen]

As we are on the subject of the "forgotten sunnah" i really do not like it when i enter a mosqe for prayer and i join the congregation and when it comes to the point when the muslims are supposed to say "Aameen" hardly any one says it. Apart from the ahle-hadith mosques where i usually pray, sometimes when i have to pray in other mosques i am the only one who says aameen in one loud voice.

:sl:
I think theres ikhtilaf about this akhee, some said we say amin loudly and some dont, and its opinion of al Imam Asy Syafi'i rahimahullah. Read his book Al Umm, insha Allah you will find out. But I also say amin loud, but usual, its like "aaaamiin". Cause there are people who are too much in say amin, they say like "aaaaaaaaaaaaaaammmiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii". The correct way is ust usual in reading it "aaamiin". Allahu A'lam.
And jazakillah khair for the explanation about sandal in masjid :rollseyes masha Allah. I will try to salah wearing sandal sometimes, what will my parents think Im wondering? :rollseyes ;D Its fun to show them sunnah that they dont know, its like luring them to ask.
Ooh yes I heard in masjid shaikh Muqbil -rahimahullah- wearing sandal, masha Allah. One of my ustadh (he is syaikh Muqbils student) told me that and actually....I have one book of sheikh Muqbil (or is it syaikh Muhammad bin Abdul wahab al Wushobi??? :rollseyes Im dat names too ;D ) that explained about salah with sandals on, but the problem is...I havent got around to read it +o( . I will do my research insha Allah. Thanks anyway.

[Malaikah]

ASS SALAAMU ALAYKUM WA RAHMATULLAH
THATS WHY THE PROPHETS (SAW) SAID :BUT...LOOK BENEATH YOUR SHOES BEFORE YOU ENTER.....
"CLEAN".........HERE MEANS SUMTHING THAT HAS'NT GOT NAJAASHA ON IT , SUCH AS DOG POOP AND ETC..........
AS FOR MUD AND ALL IT'S NOT CONSIDERED AS "A DIRTY SUBSTANCE"...BUT IT'S BEST IF THEY SHAKE IT OFF BEFORE ENTERIN'...
THERE'S A HADEETH THAT THE PROPHET SALLALAAHU 3ALAHYI WASSALAM SAID....(BY MEANING!!)...IT RAINED THE NIGHT BEFORE SO THE FLOOR OF THE MASJID WAS STIIL DAMP FROM THE RAIN AND MOIST....SO THEY PRAYED ON IT ANYWAY ..AND THE PROPHET SALLALAAHU 3ALAYHI WASSALAM STATED HOW WHEN THEY FINISHED THE SALAH..HE COULD SEE THE MUD PRINTED ON THE FOREHEADS OF HIS FELLOW COMPANIONS....(IT'S A SAHEEH HADEETH)..............
AND ALAH KNOWS BEST!! :) :)

WA KHAYR AL-HADY , HADY MUHAMMED !!

:sl:

but isnt that saying its a totally different situation as the are praying on the ground and not a carpet?

[MinAhlilHadeeth]

Yes it is sis :) There is a hadeeth, I can't remember exactly who is the Sahabi now though.....I think it's Ibn Abbas? I can't remember :X (I'm really bad at names you know ) Well he said that " I have never seen Rasululllah pray without his sandals "

And the daleel on that they have to be clean, is the hadeeth in which Rasululllah peace be upon him was praying with his shoes whilst leading prayer, and then in the midst of prayer he removed his shoes, and the remaining congregation, when they saw him doing so, removed their shoes also. So after the prayer he turned to them and informed them that he had merely removed his shoes in salaat because Jibreel informed him that there was filth on his shoes.

But yes it's most definitely sunnah :)

I hear that some shuyuukh like Bin Baaz and Ibn Uthaimeen argue that if there is fear that the carpet will be soiled, then leave the shoes off. But Others like Sheikh Muqbil rahimahullah say that the carpet is no excuse for taking off the shoes. He says which do we put precedence over? The carpet? Or the risk of Rasulullahs sunnah dying out? .....
As long as people take care to clean their shoes then there is no fear of them soiling the carpet is there?
Really......I have never seen a masjid in which people practised this sunnah, besides Sheikh Muqbils masjid in Yemen Subhanallah.
And I follow his opinion Insha'allah.

Oh jazakAllah khayr ya ukhti. I love reading your posts. Always full of sound content;).
I think it will cause alot of arguments if I walk into the masjid with my shoes on though. And my shoes are usually dirty:p. But anyway, I don't pray at the majsid unless i'm out in town when the salah times comes. And that isn't too often.
W'salaam

[Abdul-Raouf]

my masjid imam too tells us to straighten the rows...

Jazakallah khair for the article bro

[Md Mashud]

It should be noted that it was really just shoulder to shoulder - feet were initially lined up only to position, of which after were not kept contacted - like the shoulders were. Its not technically a sunnah to strive to keep feet together, maybe even frowned upon.