Hadith Lesson: Straighten Your Rows and Pray in the First

As-Salāmu ‘Alaykum wa RaḥmatuLlāhi wa Barakātuh. A‘ūdhu BiLlāhi Minash-shayṭāni r-rajīm. BismiLlāhi r-Raḥmāni r-Raḥīm. Wa ṣ-Salātu wa s-Salāmu ‘alá Rasūlinā Muḥammadin Sayyidi l-Awwalīna wa l-Akhirīn. Madad yā RasūlAllāh, Madad yā Sādāti Aṣḥābi RasūliLlāh, Madad yā Mashāyikhinā, Dastūr Mawlana Sheikh Abdullāh al-Fā’iz ad-Dāghistāni, Sheikh Muḥammad Nāẓim al-Ḥaqqānī. Madad.

1Qala RasuluLlah salla Llāhu ‘alayhi wa-sallam The Messenger of Allāh ﷻ (peace be upon him ﷺ) says:

Our Holy Prophet ﷺ is saying, “There are two men, one of whom Allāh ﷻ loves the most and one whom He ﷻ hates the most. The one Allāh ‘Azza wa-Jalla loves the most is the person who looks and finds a gap in a row, so he takes a step and fills the gap.” Those who fill the empty rows of prayer are the servants loved by Allāh ﷻ. They are His ﷻ most beloved servants, says our Prophet ṣallá Llāhu ‘alayhi wa-sallam. So, if there is a gap in the row, he definitely closes it. “The man He ﷻ dislikes the most is the one who, when a person stands up, he extends his right foot puts his hand on it and keeps still his left foot and then stands up.” A person who does not stand up directly without an excuse, extends his foot and puts his hand on it then stands, Allāh ‘Azza waJalla does not like it. Doing this act, unless he has an excuse, is not pleasing to Allāh ﷻ. He ﷻ does not like it.

2Qala RasuluLlah salla Llāhu ‘alayhi wa-sallam The Messenger of Allāh ﷻ (peace be upon him ﷺ) says:

Our Holy Prophet ﷺ is saying, “The best of you are those whose shoulders are soft in prayer.” The softest means in Khushu’ (Humble Submissiveness) or who is tolerant towards those who want to join the row from behind. Now, a person stands sternly in a row so that no one comes near him. Whereas if he is soft and someone intervenes from behind, he gives him space; who does so is the best among you, says our Prophet ṣallá Llāhu ‘alayhi wa-sallam.

3Qala RasuluLlah salla Llāhu ‘alayhi wa-sallam The Messenger of Allāh ﷻ (peace be upon him ﷺ) says:

These are always the things that happen in prayer. Some people interpret them differently, but our Holy Prophet ﷺ tells us these beautiful things here.

Our Holy Prophet ﷺ is saying, “The best row for men is the front row,” That is, the first row of the congregation. “And the worst is the last.” Those in the last row is either a person who has not performed the Sunnah prayer or has come hastily. Therefore, he remains in the last row. So, the best is the first row, says Prophet ṣallá Llāhu ‘alayhi wa-sallam. “And the best row for women is the back row.” It’s the opposite for women. “The worst is the first row.” Pushing to reach the first row is not acceptable for women. The last row is more acceptable.

4Qala RasuluLlah salla Llāhu ‘alayhi wa-sallam The Messenger of Allāh ﷻ (peace be upon him ﷺ) says:

Our Holy Prophet ﷺ is saying, “Keep the rows tightly because the shayṭān walks among you in the gaps.” Shayṭān also stays around to ruin the person’s prayer and take away his peace. When they are next to each other tightly, shayṭān cannot find a place to enter.

5Qala RasuluLlah salla Llāhu ‘alayhi wa-sallam The Messenger of Allāh ﷻ (peace be upon him ﷺ) says:

Our Holy Prophet ﷺ is saying, “Stand close together in your rows, and put your necks in line.” Keep your rows straight, says Prophet ṣallá Llāhu ‘alayhi wasallam.

6Qala RasuluLlah salla Llāhu ‘alayhi wa-sallam The Messenger of Allāh ﷻ (peace be upon him ﷺ) says:

Our Holy Prophet ﷺ is saying, “Keep your rows straight, for keeping your rows straight is from the features of the perfect prayer.” So, the most perfect way to pray is to make the rows straight; not crooked. Make it a straight row.

7Qala RasuluLlah salla Llāhu ‘alayhi wa-sallam The Messenger of Allāh ﷻ (peace be upon him ﷺ) says:

Our Holy Prophet ﷺ is saying, “Keep your rows straight, so that there will be no disagreement in your hearts.” When the rows are straight, the hearts will be straight. Nothing enters. Waswasa or other things do not enter your heart.

8Qala RasuluLlah salla Llāhu ‘alayhi wa-sallam The Messenger of Allāh ﷻ (peace be upon him ﷺ) says:

Our Holy Prophet ﷺ is saying, “Straighten your rows in prayer or Allah will certainly put your faces in opposite directions.” So, if the rows are not straight, the congregation will not be straight towards each other, they will oppose each other. Their hearts will be corrupted.

9Qala RasuluLlah salla Llāhu ‘alayhi wa-sallam The Messenger of Allāh ﷻ (peace be upon him ﷺ) says:

Our Holy Prophet ﷺ is saying, “Allah is pleased with these three people, and has mercy on them. They are the ones who get up for the night prayer.” The first is the person who gets up for the night prayer, for tahajjud and so. Allāh ﷻ is pleased with him. “Those who stand in rows for congregational prayer. And those who stand in rows for battle.” Allāh ﷻ is also pleased with them.

10-Qala RasuluLlah salla Llāhu ‘alayhi wa-sallam The Messenger of Allāh ﷻ (peace be upon him ﷺ) says:

Our Holy Prophet ﷺ is saying, “The one who prays in the first row continuously and the one who prays Jum’ah continuously are equal.” So, one is not superior to the other in terms of reward. Both of them will have attained great virtue. Therefore, Prophet ṣallá Llāhu ‘alayhi wa-sallam says, those who stand in the first rows continuously and those who attend Friday prayer continuously are at the same level.

11-Qala RasuluLlah salla Llāhu ‘alayhi wa-sallam The Messenger of Allāh ﷻ (peace be upon him ﷺ) says:

Our Holy Prophet ﷺ is saying, “Were people to know the blessing of calling the Adhan and the standing in the first row,” both reciting the call to prayer and praying in the first row - “they would even draw lots to secure these privileges.” So, for these two things, “We will make a draw to know whether I will recite the adhan, you will recite, and the winner will recite.” Those who stand in the first row are the same. Its reward is so great that they could have drawn lots so that there would be no disagreement, says Prophet says ṣallá Llāhu alayhi wa sallam. “And were they to realize the reward of performing prayer in Jama’ah early, they would race each other for it;” Also, if they knew how much reward there is in going first to the mosque to pray in congregation, they would all compete with each other, says Prophet ṣallá Llāhu ‘alayhi wa-sallam.

“And were they to know the rewards of Isha prayer and Fajr prayer, they would come to them even if they had to crawl.” So even if they couldn’t walk, they would come crawling to earn that reward, says Prophet ṣallá Llāhu ‘alayhi wasallam.

Sadaqa RasuluLlah fi ma qal, aw kama qal. The Messenger of Allāh ﷻ says the truth in what he ﷺ said or as he ﷺ said.

❁❁❁❁❁

Ihda’ – Dedication:

Ziyadatan ila sharafi’ ‘n-Nabi, sallaLlahu `alayhi wa sallam wa Alihi wa Asahabihi l-kiram, wa ila arwahi jamee’i al Anbiya’i wa l-Mursalin wa Khudama’i sharai’ihim wa ila arwahi al ‘Aimmati al arba’a, wa ila arwahi Mashayyikhina fi tTariqati n-Naqshbandiyyati l-Aliyyah, khassatan Imamu t-Tariqah wa Ghawthu lKhaliqah Khwaja Bahauddin Muhammad al-Uwaisiyi l-Bukhari, Sayyidina Abdul Khaliq al Ghujduwani, Mawlana Shaykh Sharafuddin al Daghestani, Mawlana Shaykh Abdullah al Faiz al Daghestani, Mawlana Shaykh Muhammad Nazim Adil al Haqqani, wa sai’ri Sadatina wa s-Siddiqiyun, wa man nahnu fi hadratihim wa jiwarihim, for the souls of all our passed ones, for the souls of all Shaheeds. LiLlahi Ta’ala, Al-Fatiha.

[(Translation) To the honor of the Prophet, Prayers and Peace be upon Him, and his family, and his companions, and the souls of all the prophets as well as of His messengers and of those who served their Sharia, and to the souls of the four Imams. And to the souls of our Mashayikh of the Most Distinguished Naqshbandi Tariqa, in particular to the soul of the Imam of the Tariqa Ghawth alKhaliqa (the Help of Creation), Khwaja Bahauddin Muhammad al-Uwaisiyi lBukhari, Sayyidina Abdul Khaliq al Ghujduwani, Mawlana Shaykh Sharafuddin al Daghestani, Mawlana Shaykh Abdullah al Faiz al Daghestani, Mawlana Shaykh Muhammad Nazim Adil al Haqqani, and the rest of our masters and Siddiqiyun, and to whom we are in their presence and near them, for the souls of all our passed ones, for the souls of all Shaheeds. To Allah Almighty. Al Fatiha.]

Mawlana Sheikh Muhammad Adil ar-Rabbani 25 February 2025/ 26 Sha’ban 1446 Beylerbeyi Dergah, Istanbul