أَتِمُّوا الصَّفَّ المُقَدَّمُ ثُمَّ الذَّي يَلِيهِ فَمَا كَانَ مِنْ نَقْصٍ فَلْيَكُنْ مِنَ الصَّفِّ الْمُؤَخَّرِ
(حم د ن حب ابن خزيمة الضياء) عن أنس )
It is reported that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said:
“Fill the first row, and then the next one after it, if (all rows cannot be filled), let the last row remain unfilled.”
This hadeeth was given by Ahmad (3/132), Abu Dawood (671), al-Nasai (2/93), Ibn Hibban (2155), Ibn Husayma (1460), ad-Diya al-Maqdisi in al-Mukhtar ( 2378) according to Anas, may Allah be pleased with him.
Sheikh al-Albani called the hadith authentic. See “Sahih al-Jami ‘as-sagir” (122), “Mishkatul-masabih” (1094), “Riyad-us-salihin” (1100).
Khadeeja