Straightening The Lines of Prayer

عنْ أَنَسِ بْنِ مَالِكٍ رضي الله عنه عَنْ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَالَ : سَوُّوا صُفُوفَكُمْ  فَإِنَّ تَسْوِيَةَ الصَّفِّ مِنْ تَمَامِ الصَّلاةِ 

Anas bin Malik narrated that the Prophet (ﷺ) said, “Straighten the lines (of congregational prayer), for it is part of making prayer complete.”

Narrated in Sahih Bukhari

Grade: Sahih (authentic)

Reflections:

1. Amongst the etiquette of prayer is having the rows formed by the congregation straightened.

2. It is mustahhab (recommended) for the imam to ask the congregation to correct their rows before commencing the prayer.

3. Members of the congregation are also encouraged to remind each to rectify their positions.

4. Ensuring the integrity of the rows makes the congregational prayer complete.

5. In his book ‘Al-Minhaj’, Imam Nawawi mentions that the aforesaid hadith not just espouses perfecting the rows of prayer, but it also shows the permissibility of speaking towards that end between the iqamah (the second call to prayer) and the actual start of the prayer.