with the imam standing among them, even if the row is long. According to the school, they should pray sitting, as a recommendation, and they should also gesture for bowing and prostration, likewise as a recommendation (1).

Some scholars said instead that the imam should stand in front of them, because the sunnah is for the imam to be ahead of them (360). His standing behind them serves no significant purpose, and when a person shares his defect with others, it becomes easier for him to bear. Thus, if he stands in front, he will feel no embarrassment, shame, or awkwardness, since everyone with him is in the same condition. Moreover, the imam’s proper position, distinct from the congregation, should not be abandoned, for the imam is followed and should therefore be distinguished from those who follow him, namely the worshippers praying behind him. This view is closer to what is correct.

An exception to the author’s statement is when they are in darkness, or they cannot see. In that case, their imam should stand in front of them as usual, because the cause for concern is absent.

Each Group Should Pray Separately; but if This Is Difficult, the Men Pray While the Women Turn Their Backs to Them, Then They Reverse ...........

His statement, “Each group should pray separately,” means that if naked men and women are together, the men should pray separately and the women separately; they should not all pray together. This is because the women cannot stand in the men’s row; they must stand in a row behind them. But if they stand behind the men, they will see the men’s private parts. Thus, the women should not pray with the men; rather, the men should pray in one place and the women in another, and they should not pray in congregation.

His statement, “but if this is difficult,” means: if it is difficult for each group to pray separately, such that no other place is available, then “the men pray while the women turn their backs to them; then they reverse.”