and between his statement, “Let those who are mature stand nearest to me.” The latter urges the older and rational to move forward, whereas the former—were it actually the exact wording of the ḥadith—would amount to forbidding anyone who has not reached puberty or lacks sound judgment from standing directly behind the imam.

Accordingly, we say that those who drive children away from the first row are mistaken, first because they are denying people a right that is theirs. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “Whoever reaches a place before any other Muslim has done so is entitled to it.”

Second, they make children dislike the mosques, and this leads the child to avoid the mosque whenever he is chased away from it.

Third, a lasting resentment settles in the child’s heart toward the one who expelled him; you will find him disliking that person and even disliking to hear his name mentioned. Because of these harms we say: do not expel children from the front rows.

Moreover, if we force them out of the front rows they will start playing. Were they all placed together in a single row—as some scholars have suggested—the amount of play would disrupt both the mosque and its worshippers. When they are mixed with the adults in the first row and spread out, that is far safer than the chaos that results from gathering them in one row.

From the Prophet’s words, “Let those among you who are mature and possess sound judgment stand nearest to me,” we learn that drawing close to the imam is something sought after; hence he said, “let them stand nearest to me,” meaning they are the ones who should be directly behind him.