Which is better: praying in the first row on the left side of the mosque, or praying in the second row on the right side of the mosque?
It is preferable to pray in the first row, even if it is to the left of the Imam, based on the Bukhari narration: "If people knew what was in the call to prayer and the first row, and they could find no way to get it except by drawing lots, they would certainly draw lots for it." And the : "Will you not arrange your rows as the angels arrange their rows before their Lord?" They said, "How do the angels arrange their rows before their Lord?" He said, "They complete the first row, then the next..." If the first row coincides with the Imam's right side, that is even better, based on An-Nasa'i's hadith from Al-Bara': "When we prayed behind the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, we loved to be on his right side."
Summary from Ftawy's records · added here
Reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
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