JAMĀ'AH FORMATIONS explained

CASE 1: If there are 2 MALES praying together, most of the scholars have said the Imām stands on the left and the one following stands to his right side, feet to feet on the same line. The proof for this is the ḥadīth of Ibn 'Abbās, may Allāh be pleased him, where he said: “I prayed with the Prophet (ﷺ) one night and I stood on his left side. Allāh's Messenger (ﷺ) caught hold of my head from behind and drew me to his right and then offered the (night) prayer and slept.” [Bukhāri & Muslim] Most of these scholars also said that if the one following stands on the left side of the Imām rather than the right, the pray is still valid, but he has opposed the Sunnah. The proof for this is found in the aforementioned ḥadīth; that is, the Prophet ﷺ did not instruct Ibn 'Abbās to restart his prayer after the Prophet ﷺ drew him to the other side, rather he continued on with his prayer. 🔺Note: The above points also apply to women. If there are two women praying together, the one leading stands on the left, and the one being led stands on the right. ____ CASE 2: If there are 3 males praying together, the Imām stands infront and the rest form a row behind him. The proof for this is the long Ḥadīth of Jābir, reported by Muslim. In the Ḥadīth, Jābir was standing to the right of the Prophet ﷺ in the prayer, then another Ṣaḥābī by the name of Jabbār ibn Ṣakhr joined in and stood on the left side of the Prophet ﷺ, so the Prophet ﷺ took them both (Jābir & Jabbār) by their hands and drew them behind him. 🔺Note: If there are more than three males praying together, there's an ijmā' (consensus) that they must form a row behind the Imām. ____ CASES 3️⃣,4️⃣,6️⃣,7️⃣&8️⃣ Anas raḍhiyallāhu ’anhu narrated: “The Prophet (ﷺ) prayed in the house of Umm Sulaim; and I, along with an orphan stood behind him while Umm Sulaim (stood) behind us.” [Bukhāri & Muslim] Based on this ḥadīth, if a man is praying with a woman, the woman prays behind the man. If another male joins this congregation, he stands on to right side of the Imām (as explained in case 1), and if a third male joins them, the Imām should take a step forward so that the two men can form a row behind him (as explained in case 2). In all of these cases, the woman remains alone behind the males. But if another woman joins this congregation, she will stand beside this woman as one row. ___ CASE 5: If there are 3 or more women praying in congregation, then the scholars say, the female Imām should stand in the middle of the row and lead the congregation from this position. This has been established from ’Ā'ishah and Umm Salamah -may Allāh be pleased with them both-. Thus, following the practice of the mothers of the believers is most appropriate. However, if a female Imām stands infront of a female congregation just like a male Imām, there's nothing to prove that this prayer is invalid; because (1) the basic rule is that women are the counterparts of men in terms of Islamic rulings, so unless there's evidence to differentiate between the two, they share the same rulings, (2) the original position of the Imām when leading a group of 2 or more is to stand at the front. And Allāh knows best.