Suhayb, from Anas ibn Mālik—may Allah be pleased with him—who said: The Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—said, “Complete the rows, for I can see you from behind my back.” In another wording: “Straighten the rows.” Al-Bukhārī also narrated from Humayd, from Anas, who said: “The call to commence the prayer had been given, whereupon the Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—turned toward us and said: ‘Straighten your rows and stand close together, for I can see you from behind my back.’ Each of us would press his shoulder against his companion’s shoulder and his body against his body.”

If straightening and aligning the row are part of completing and properly establishing the prayer—such that, were they to depart entirely from straightness and alignment until one person’s head was level with the lower half of another’s body, they would not be considered to be standing in a row and would be ordered to repeat the prayer—then they would be even more deserving of this than the man who prayed alone behind the row and whom the Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him—ordered to repeat his prayer. How much more, then, does this apply to setting the prayer’s own actions aright and performing them properly, when a person does not straighten his back in bowing and prostration?

Further evidence for this—and it constitutes an independent proof concerning the issue—is the report narrated by both authors of the two Sahīhs from Shuba, from Qatāda, from Anas—may Allah be pleased with him—from the Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him—who said: “Set your bowing and prostration aright. By Allah, I can see you behind me—or, according to one narration, from behind my back—when you bow and prostrate.” In another narration, al-Bukhārī reported from Hammām, from Qatāda, from Anas—may Allah be pleased with him—that he heard the Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him—say: “Complete your bowing and prostration. By Him in whose hand is my soul, I can see you from behind my back whenever you bow and whenever you prostrate.” Muslim also narrated it through Hishām al-Dastawāʾī and Ibn