In this chapter the Prophet ﷺ instructed that we begin with the foremost row, then the next, and that any deficiency be left to the rear. In other words, he ordered them to complete the rows one after another, so whatever space remains should be in the last row. This shows that anyone who takes a place in the second row before the first is full—even if someone joins him—has not followed the Sunnah. The Sunnah is that no one stands in the second row until the first is complete, nor in the third until the second is complete; and so on—this is the prophetic practice.

Among the reports the compiler cited here is the ḥadith in which the Prophet ﷺ said, “Allah and His angels invoke blessings upon the right sides of the rows.” Yet this narration includes a transmitter whose reliability is disputed, and for that reason it is deemed weak, even though its chain otherwise meets Muslim’s criteria. Whenever a narrator’s trustworthiness is in question, the report is considered weak.

As for the final ḥadith, the Prophet ﷺ commanded that the imam be placed in the center, saying, “Place the imam in the middle,” meaning: keep him centrally positioned. That is fairness. For this reason—when, in the earliest days after the Hijrah, the worshippers numbered three and formed a single row—it was prescribed that the imam stand between them, not off to the left. This demonstrates the importance of centering the imam; through it we learn that