Sayyiduna Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates this statement of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): "Straighten your rows. Stand close to one another and align your shoulders. By the One in Whose Hand is my soul, I have seen Satan entering the gaps in the rows just as if he were a small goat."

Hattan bin Abdullah Raqashi narrates: Ash'ari led his companions in prayer. When they sat during the prayer, one of those present said: Prayer has been made obligatory along with virtue and zakat. When Ash'ari completed his prayer, he turned towards them and asked: Who among you said such a thing? The people remained silent. Ash'ari said: O Hattan, perhaps you said this. Hattan said: By Allah! I did not say this, but I feared you would hold me responsible for it. One of those present spoke up: I said this. I only intended good by it. So Ash'ari said: Do you people not know? What should you recite during your prayer? Indeed, the Messenger of Allah taught us the Sunnah while delivering the sermon and explained the method of prayer before us. He said: When the prayer is established, straighten your rows and let one of you lead you. When he says the takbir, you also say the takbir. When he says wala ad-dallin, you say ameen; Allah the Exalted will accept your supplication. Then when he says the takbir and goes into ruku', you also go into ruku' saying the takbir. The imam should go into ruku' before you and rise before you. The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: It will be so. When he recites «سمع اللہ لمن حمدہ» , you recite «اللهم ربنا ولك الحمد» , because Allah the Exalted has said this through the tongue of the Prophet. Then whoever praises Him, Allah the Exalted hears him. Then when the imam says the takbir and goes into prostration, you also go into prostration saying the takbir. The imam should go into prostration before you and rise before you. The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: It will be so. Then when the sitting (qa'dah) comes, you should recite: "All verbal and physical acts of worship are exclusively for Allah the Exalted. O Prophet, peace be upon you, and the mercy and blessings of Allah the Exalted. Peace be upon us and upon all the righteous servants of Allah the Exalted. I bear witness that there is no deity except Allah the Exalted, and indeed, our master Muhammad is His servant and His Messenger."

Mus'ab bin Thabit narrates: I came and sat down, then Muhammad bin Muslim informed: Sayyiduna Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) arrived and sat down in your place. He said: Do you people know what this piece of wood is? We replied: No. He informed: When the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) would stand for prayer, he would hold it with his blessed hand, then he would turn and say: Maintain straightness and correct your rows. Then he would hold it in his left hand and say: Maintain straightness and correct your rows. Then, when the mosque was demolished, this piece of wood was lost. Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) searched for it, and he found this piece of wood. This piece of wood had been taken by Banu Amr bin Awf and they had placed it in their mosque. Sayyiduna Umar brought it back from there and placed it in its (previous specific) place.

Sayyiduna Nu’man bin Bashir (may Allah be pleased with him) reports: The Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) used to straighten the rows as if they were arrows.

Sayyiduna Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: When Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) expanded the Prophet’s Mosque, people became heedless of the piece of wood that was present in the direction of the qiblah. Sayyiduna Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: Do you know why that piece of wood was placed there? The people replied: No, we do not. So he informed them: The Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), after the iqamah was called for prayer, would take that piece of wood in his blessed right hand and then, turning to the right side, would say: Straighten and align your rows. Then he would take it in his blessed left hand and, turning to the left side, would say: Straighten your rows.

Sayyiduna Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: The Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Complete your rows, for indeed straightening the rows is part of the completion of prayer."

Sayyiduna Abu Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) used to pass his hand over our shoulders before starting the prayer and would say: "Keep (your rows) straight and do not differ among yourselves, otherwise your hearts will differ. Let those among you who are wise and experienced stand close to me, then those who are next to them in rank, and then those who are next to them in rank." Sayyiduna Abu Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) says: "Today, there are severe differences among you."

Sayyiduna Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: When the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) would stand to perform prayer, before saying the takbeer, he would face us and instruct: "Straighten the rows and do not leave gaps between them, for I can see you behind my back."

Sayyiduna Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "Straighten the rows, for indeed straightening the rows is part of the completion of prayer."

Sayyiduna Nu’man bin Bashir (may Allah be pleased with him) stated while delivering a sermon that the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) used to straighten the rows, until he would make them like an arrow or a spear. On one occasion, he saw a man whose chest was protruding ahead of the row, so he said: O servants of Allah! Either you will straighten your rows, or Allah the Exalted will create discord among you.