He said, “I saw each man press his shoulder to his companion’s shoulder, his knee to his companion’s knee, and his ankle to his companion’s ankle.”
I say: The chain of transmission is sound. Al-Bukhari cites it decisively in suspended form, and Ibn Khuzaymah connects the chain in his Ṣaḥīḥ as well, as noted in al-Targhīb (1/176) and Fatḥ al-Bārī (2/176).
Al-Dulabī also related it through the route of Baqiyyah ibn al-Walīd. Ḥarīz told us: “I heard Ghaylān al-Muqriʾ narrate from Abū Qatīlah Marthad ibn Wadāʿah, who said: ‘I heard al-Nuʿmān ibn Bashīr say…,’” and he reported the same words.
This chain is acceptable for corroboration. All of its narrators are trustworthy except Ghaylān al-Muqriʾ. He may be Ghaylān ibn Anas al-Kalbī, their client from Damascus; if so, his status is unknown, although a group transmitted from him, and al-Ḥāfiẓ ruled him “maqbūl” (acceptable).
Fiqh of the ḥadith
These two reports contain several important rulings:
-
It is obligatory to establish, straighten, and close the ranks, because the Prophet ﷺ commanded it, and the default rule for a command is obligation unless there is evidence otherwise. Here the very wording reinforces the obligatory nature: “or else Allah will cause your hearts to differ.” Such a threat is not issued concerning something that is merely recommended.
-
The prescribed alignment is achieved by pressing shoulder to shoulder and the edge of one foot to the edge of the next, for this is exactly what the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) did when they were ordered to straighten the rows.