The Messenger of Allah ﷺ came out to us and said, "Why do I see you raising your hands as though they were the tails of restless horses? Be still in the prayer."Then he came out to us and saw us in scattered circles and said, "Why do I see you in separate groups?"Then he came out to us and said, "Will you not form your rows as the angels form their rows before their Lord?"We asked, "Messenger of Allah, how do the angels form their rows before their Lord?"He replied, "They complete the front rows first, and they pack themselves tightly together in the row."
خرج علينا رسول الله ﷺ فقال: ما لي أراكم رافعي أيديكم كأنها أذناب خيل شمس؟ اسكنوا في الصلاة. قال: ثم خرج علينا فرآنا حلقا فقال: ما لي أراكم عزين؟ قال: ثم خرج علينا فقال: ألا تصفون كما تصف الملائكة عند ربها؟ فقلنا: يا رسول الله! وكيف تصف الملائكة عند ربها؟ قال: يتمون الصفوف الأول، ويتراصون في الصف.
Muslim narrated it in the Book of Prayer (430) from the hadith of Amash, from Musayab bin Rafi, from Tamim bin Tarafa, from Jabir bin Samura, and he related it likewise. The authors of the Sunan narrated the last part of the hadith from this same route.His saying "shumus" is the plural of "shamus," like "rasul" and "rusul," referring to horses that will not settle but keep striking and lashing out with their tails and legs.His saying "hilaqan" can be pronounced with either a kasra or a fatha on the ha, both being valid, and it is the plural of "halqa" with a silent lam.His saying "What is the matter that I see you in scattered groups" means divided into separate clusters, the singular of which is "izza."This contains a prohibition against dispersing and a command to gather together.