Furthermore, the underlying rationale requires that the men be placed first, because men are more reliable should the imam forget something or make an error in a verse, or should he need to appoint someone to take his place if an excuse arises and he has to leave the prayer. Then come the boys, because boys are male, and Allah has given males precedence over females; thus, they come before the women. Then come the women, because the Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him—said: “The best rows for women are the last of them.” (1) This indicates that women should stand behind the men.

As for the hadith, “Place them behind, as Allah has placed them behind,” (2) it is weak and cannot be used as evidence. Rather, this hadith may be cited: “The best rows for women are the last of them.” It necessarily follows from this that the rows of women should be behind the rows of men.

This ordering that we have mentioned and supported by textual evidence and reason applies so long as there is no impediment. If there is an impediment—such that gathering the boys together would result in playing and disruption—then they should not be gathered together. This is because a virtue connected to the act of worship itself takes precedence over a virtue connected to its place. This is a juristic principle. For this reason, the scholars have said that performing ramal—brisk walking—in the arrival circumambulation is preferable to drawing close to the House, because ramal is connected to the act of worship itself, whereas drawing close to the House is connected to its place.

Thus, we say: there is no doubt that the boys’ place behind the men is preferable. But if this results in disruption and spoils the prayer for the adults and for the boys themselves, then taking that into consideration takes precedence over observing the virtue of the place.

So, how should we proceed?