Chapter: Straightening the Rows

The First Hadith
Anas ibn Mālik ⦗Allah be pleased with him⦘ said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ declared, “Straighten your rows, for the straightening of the rows is part of perfecting the prayer.”

Overall meaning
The Prophet ﷺ directs his community toward whatever secures their welfare and success. In this instance he commands them to align their rows so that their orientation toward the qiblah is uniform and the gaps between them closed, leaving no opening for the devils to meddle with their prayer. He also points out some of the benefits gained by doing so: straightening the rows is a sign of the prayer’s completeness and perfection, whereas a crooked row signals deficiency and shortcoming.

Legal rulings derived from the hadith

1. It is prescribed to straighten the rows in prayer, with those standing in them aligned on a single line, neither one ahead nor another behind.
2. Because straightening the rows leads to the prayer’s perfection, it is deemed recommended by the majority. Some, however, consider it obligatory, based on the hadith: “Either you will certainly straighten your rows, or Allah will surely cause your faces to differ.”
3. Crooked rows are disliked, and such crookedness constitutes a deficiency in the prayer.
4. The merit of congregational prayer is underscored, for the reward linked to straightening the rows can only be realized in a group prayer.
5. Some scholars say the wisdom behind straightening the rows is to imitate the angels in the way they line up. Muslim narrates from Jābir: “The Messenger of Allah ﷺ came out to us and said, ‘Will you not form rows as the angels form rows before their Lord?’ We asked, ‘O Messenger of Allah, how do the angels form rows before their Lord?’ He replied, ‘They complete the front rows and close up the gaps.’”