Where does the row start when praying in a congregation? At the right? Next to whoever is praying already?
The Prophet ﷺ said, “Keep the imam in the middle and fill the gaps.”
Standing where one should is sunnah, and according to some scholars is even obligatory, and some said the prayer of the person who doesn’t stand where he should be standing is invalid! This is because of the stress the Prophet ﷺ gave to making the rows right.
So the first one to start the row will stand immediately behind the imam, then one to his/her right, and one to his/her left. The row is filled up like this; so if there are 3 people standing and you come, you stand on the right, the next person who comes will stand on the left side. This way the imam is kept in the middle.
The row does NOT start on the right or in a random spot – this is especially an issue for women when they do go to pray taraweeh for example.
The concept is simple and easy to understand, so ladies we need to do it! If you see a gap don’t just stay with you are because you’re standing with your friends. Filling the gaps is important!
As the Prophet ﷺ warned: “Make the rows straight…and the gaps and do not leave gaps for the devils!”
He also said: “Make the rows straight and do not differ, lest your hearts differ.” (Muslim)
When there are gaps, the devils are present and there is spiritual detriment there. Also, we see that it is a result and also a foretelling of how our hearts are not aligned ![🙁]()
To miss this sequence takes away from the blessings of the congregational prayer.
May Allah give us tawfeeq to put this into practice.
