First: standing in the row is not analogous to leading the prayer. The follower relies upon the imam, places his trust in him, and follows him in his prayer—unlike the person who stands beside him in the row. Thus, this analogy is invalid, because one condition for a valid analogy is that the original case and the derived case share the same effective cause, whereas the effective cause here differs.

Second: this reasoning is contrary to the textual evidence. It is authentically established that Anas ibn Malik stood behind the Prophet ﷺ together with an orphan (1). An orphan has not reached puberty, and this occurred in a voluntary prayer. The principle is that whatever is established regarding voluntary prayers is likewise established regarding obligatory prayers unless there is evidence to the contrary; and there is no evidence distinguishing between obligatory and voluntary prayers.

Third: the case upon which the analogy is based—namely, that a minor cannot validly lead an adult in prayer—is itself unsound, because the sunnah establishes the contrary. This is shown by the account of Amr ibn Salamah al-Jarmi, who led his people in prayer when he was six or seven years old” (2), as authentically recorded in Sahih al-Bukhari. Accordingly, the preponderant view in this matter is that whoever has a minor standing beside him is not praying alone, whether in an obligatory or voluntary prayer, and his prayer is valid.

“Whoever finds a gap should enter it; otherwise, he should stand to the imam’s right, …”

His statement, “Whoever finds a gap should enter it,” means that a “gap” is an opening in the row—that is, a place where no one is standing. His statement, “should enter it,” means that he is obliged to enter it if he has no one to stand with him. If he has someone to stand with him, then if there is only one person, the two of them should stand together behind the row; but if they are two or more, he should enter the gap.