And under the section “The Position of the Imām and the Congregants” he writes:

Statement no. 2: “According to the ḥadīth of Abū Hurayrah, the Prophet ﷺ said: ‘Place the imām in the middle and close the gaps.’ Narrated by Abū Dāwūd.”

I comment: Its isnād is weak; it contains two unknown narrators, and ʿAbd al-Ḥaqq al-Ishbīlī also graded it weak. The second half of the wording, however, is supported by the report of Ibn ʿUmar; see al-Targhīb 1/173. I later validated that wording in Ṣaḥīḥ Abī Dāwūd 672, whereas the first half is listed in Ḍaʿīf Abī Dāwūd 106.

He then says: “On the authority of Anas: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ liked the Emigrants to stand directly behind him … Narrated by Aḥmad and Abū Dāwūd.”

I remark: Citing Abū Dāwūd is an error, for he did not record it in his Sunan. The compiler actually drew the aḥādīth of this chapter from al-Muntaqā, which states: “Narrated by Aḥmad and Ibn Mājah.” That is the correct attribution, and the chain of transmission is sound.

His statement: “3. The position of boys and women relative to men: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ would arrange the men in front of the boys, the boys behind them, and the women behind the boys. Narrated by Aḥmad and Abū Dāwūd.”

I say: Both chains are weak; they contain Shahr, and he is weak, as has been mentioned more than once. Authentic reports do establish that women form their own row behind the men, but I have found no proof for placing the boys behind them except this ḥadīth, and it is not strong enough to serve as evidence. Therefore I see no harm in boys standing with the men when there is space in the row, and the prayer of the orphan lad with Anas behind the Prophet ﷺ is decisive proof of that.