The best of the men's rows is the first, and the worst is the last, and the best of the women's rows is the last, and the worst is the first
Chapter: Straightening The Rows; The Virtue Of The Front Row And Then The Next; Competing With One Another For The Front Row; The People Of Virtue Should Take Precedence And Be Closest To The Imam
Authentic
hadith of Sahih Muslim
Sahih Muslim 440a
Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said:
"The best of the men's rows is the first, and the worst is the last, and the best of the women's rows is the last, and the worst is the first."
Reported by Muslim (No. 440a, 440b), Abu Dawud (No. 678), At-Tirmidhi (No. 224), An-Nasa’i (No. 820), Ibn Majah (No. 1000), Ahmad (No. 7058, 8130, 8443, 9900) and Ad-Darimi (No. 1240).
The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) informed that the best, most rewardable, and most meritorious among the rows of men in prayer is the first one, as they are close to the Imām, can listen to his recitation better, and are remote from women. And the worst, the least rewardable, the least meritorious, and the farthest from what is required by the Shariah is the last row. And the best among women's rows is the last one, for it is more concealing for them and farther from mixing with men, seeing them, and being tempted by them. The worst among their rows is the first one, given their closeness to men and exposure to temptation.
Lessons
The Hadīth urges men to hasten to perform acts of worship and to be in the first rows in prayer.
It is permissible for women to pray in the mosque with men in separate rows, provided they adhere to concealment and modesty.
If women gather in the mosque, they should stand in rows like the rows of men. They should not stand separately. Rather, they have to stand side by side in the row and fill the gaps, as in the rows of men.
The Hadīth shows the great care taken by the Shariah to urge women to stay away from men, even in places of worship.
People have varying merits based on their good deeds.
An-Nawawi said: As for the rows of men, they are generally subject to this rule: the best of them is always the first, and the worst of them is always the last. As for the rows of women, what is meant by the Hadīth are the rows of women who pray along with men. However, if they pray separately and not with men, then they are like men: the best of their rows is the first and the worst of them is the last.
An-Nawawi said: The commendable first row, which the Hadīths mention its merit and urge people to stand in, is the row right behind the Imām, whether those who stand in it come early or late, and whether it is separated by a room or the like or not.
Explanation in Arabic
أَخْبَرَ النبيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم أنّ خيرَ صفوف الرجال في الصلاة وأكثرها ثوابًا وفضلًا أولُها؛ لقربهم من الإمام واستماعهم لقراءته وبُعْدِهم من النساء،
وشرّها وأقلّها ثوابًا وفضلًا وأبعدها من مطلوب الشرع آخرها،
وخير صفوف النساء آخرها؛ لأنه أسترُ لهن، وأبعد من مخالطة الرجال ورؤيتهم والفتنة بهم، وشرها أولها؛ لقربها من الرجال والتعرض للفتنة.
حث الرجال على المسارعة إلى الطاعات والصفوف الأولى في الصلوات.
جواز صلاة النساء في المسجد مع الرِّجال في صفوف مستقلة، لكن مع التَّستُّر والحِشْمَة.
النَّساء إذا اجتمعن في المسجد، فإنهن يَكُنَّ صفوفًا، كصفوف الرِّجال، ولا يتفرقن، بل عليهن التَّراص في الصّف وسدّ الخلل، كما في صفوف الرجال.
بيان شدة عناية الشرع بالحث بابتعاد النساء عن الرجال حتى في مواطن العبادة.
تفاضل الناس بحسب أعمالهم.
قال النووي: أما صفوف الرجال فهي على عمومها، فخيرها أولُها أبدًا، وشرها آخرها أبدًا، أما صفوف النساء فالمراد بالحديث: صفوف النساء اللواتي يصلين مع الرجال، وأما إذا صلين متميزات لا مع الرجال فهن كالرجال؛ خير صفوفهن أولُها وشرُّها آخرُها.
قال النووي: الصف الأول الممدوح الذي قد وردت الأحاديث بفضله والحث عليه هو الصف الذي يلي الإمام؛ سواء جاء صاحبه متقدِّمًا أو متأخرًا، وسواء تخلله مقصورة ونحوها أم لا.
?عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ - رضى الله عنه - قَالَ: قَالَ رَسُولُ اَللَّهِ - صلى الله عليه وسلم -{ خَيْرُ صُفُوفِ اَلرِّجَالِ أَوَّلُهَا, وَشَرُّهَا آخِرُهَا, وَخَيْرُ صُفُوفِ اَلنِّسَاءِ آخِرُهَا, وَشَرُّهَا أَوَّلُهَا…
