he said: "I saw the man placing his shoulder against the shoulder of his companion, his knee against the knee of his companion, and his ankle against the ankle of his companion." I said: Its chain of transmission is authentic, and al-Bukhārī mentioned it with certainty, and Ibn Khuzaymah also connected it in his "Ṣaḥīḥ" as in "al-Targhīb" (1/176) and "al-Fatḥ" (2/176). Then al-Dūlābī narrated it through the route of Baqiyyah ibn al-Walīd, who said: Ḥarīz narrated to us, saying: I heard Ghaylān al-Muqriʾ narrating from Abū Qutaylah Marthad ibn Wadāʿah (who said: I heard) al-Nuʿmān ibn Bashīr say: And he mentioned it. This is a chain that is acceptable for corroborations, and its narrators are trustworthy except for Ghaylān al-Muqriʾ, who might be Ghaylān ibn Anas al-Kalbī, their client from Damascus. If it is him, he is of unknown status, though a group narrated from him, and al-Ḥāfiẓ said he is acceptable. The fiqh of the ḥadīth: In these two ḥadīths, there are important benefits: The first is the obligation to straighten and align the rows and to stand close together, as it is commanded, and the default in commands is obligation unless there is evidence to the contrary, as established in the principles [of jurisprudence]. The evidence here confirms the obligation, which is his (ṣallá Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallam) saying: "or Allāh will cause discord among your hearts." For such a threat is not stated regarding something that is not obligatory, as is clear. The second is that the mentioned alignment is achieved by placing shoulder to shoulder and the edge of the foot to the foot, as this is what the Companions (raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhum) did when they were commanded to straighten the rows