The Forgotten Sunnah

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.