Caution: Translations of Quran and Ḥadīth may lead to possible misapplications and misinterpretations. This site is intended for students of sacred knowledge that are proficient in comprehending classical Arabic and have a strong foundation in Islamic sciences. Also note that religious injunctions rely on several aspects beyond what one may glean through reading individual aḥādīth.
Qurʾān Bukhārī Muslim Nasāʾī Abū Dāwūd Tirmidhī Ibn Mājah Mālik Aḥmad Dārimī Ḥākim Ibn Ḥibbān Ṭabarānī Nasāʾī's Kubrá Bayhaqī al-Luʾluʾ wa-al-Marjān Ibn Rajab's Fifty Riyāḍ al-Ṣāliḥīn Aḥmad's Zuhd Suyūṭī
ahmad:20964 – Abū Muʿāwiyah > al-Aʿmash > Musayyab b. Rāfiʿ > Tamīm b. Ṭarafah > Jābir b. Samurah

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ came to us and said: "How is it that I see you lifting your hands like the tails of headstrong horses? Be calm in prayer." He (the narrator) said: He then again came to us and saw us (sitting) in circles. He said: "How is it that I see you in separate groups?" He (the narrator) said: He again came to us and said: "Why don't you draw yourselves up in rows as angels do in the presence of their Lord?" We said: Messenger of Allah, how do the angels draw themselves up in rows in the presence of their Lord? He (the Holy Prophet) said: "They make the first rows complete and keep close together in the row." (Using translation from Muslim 430a)  

أحمد:٢٠٩٦٤ – حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو مُعَاوِيَةَ حَدَّثَنَا الْأَعْمَشُ عَنْ مُسَيَّبِ بْنِ رَافِعٍ عَنْ تَمِيمِ بْنِ طَرَفَةَ عَنْ جَابِرِ بْنِ سَمُرَةَ قَالَ

خَرَجَ عَلَيْنَا رَسُولُ اللهِ ﷺ ذَاتَ يَوْمٍ فَقَالَ مَا لِي أَرَاكُمْ رَافِعِي أَيْدِيكُمْ كَأَنَّهَا أَذْنَابُ خَيْلٍ شُمْسٍ اسْكُنُوا فِي الصَّلَاةِ ثُمَّ خَرَجَ عَلَيْنَا فَرَآنَا حِلَقًا فَقَالَ مَا لِي أَرَاكُمْ عِزِينَ ثُمَّ خَرَجَ عَلَيْنَا فَقَالَ أَلَا تَصُفُّونَ كَمَا تَصُفُّ الْمَلَائِكَةُ عِنْدَ رَبِّهَا؟ قَالَ قَالُوا يَا رَسُولَ اللهِ وَكَيْفَ تَصُفُّ الْمَلَائِكَةُ عِنْدَ رَبِّهَا؟ قَالَ يُتِمُّونَ الصُّفُوفَ الْأُولَى وَيَتَرَاصُّونَ فِي الصَّفِّ  

See similar narrations below:

Collected by Muslim, Aḥmad, Ibn Ḥibbān, Ṭabarānī
muslim:430a – Abū Bakr b. Abū Shaybah And ʾAbū Kurayb > Abū Muʿāwiyah > al-Aʿmash > al-Musayyab b. Rāfiʿ > Tamīm b. Ṭarafah > Jābir b. Samurah

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ came to us and said: "How is it that I see you lifting your hands like the tails of headstrong horses? Be calm in prayer." He (the narrator) said: He then again came to us and saw us (sitting) in circles. He said: "How is it that I see you in separate groups?" He (the narrator) said: He again came to us and said: "Why don't you draw yourselves up in rows as angels do in the presence of their Lord?" We said: Messenger of Allah, how do the angels draw themselves up in rows in the presence of their Lord? He (the Holy Prophet) said: "They make the first rows complete and keep close together in the row."  

مسلم:٤٣٠a – حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو بَكْرِ بْنُ أَبِي شَيْبَةَ وَأَبُو كُرَيْبٍ قَالاَ حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو مُعَاوِيَةَ عَنِ الأَعْمَشِ عَنِ الْمُسَيَّبِ بْنِ رَافِعٍ عَنْ تَمِيمِ بْنِ طَرَفَةَ عَنْ جَابِرِ بْنِ سَمُرَةَ قَالَ

خَرَجَ عَلَيْنَا رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ فَقَالَ مَا لِي أَرَاكُمْ رَافِعِي أَيْدِيكُمْ كَأَنَّهَا أَذْنَابُ خَيْلٍ شُمْسٍ اسْكُنُوا فِي الصَّلاَةِ قَالَ ثُمَّ خَرَجَ عَلَيْنَا فَرَآنَا حَلَقًا فَقَالَ مَا لِي أَرَاكُمْ عِزِينَ قَالَ ثُمَّ خَرَجَ عَلَيْنَا فَقَالَ أَلاَ تَصُفُّونَ كَمَا تَصُفُّ الْمَلاَئِكَةُ عِنْدَ رَبِّهَا فَقُلْنَا يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ وَكَيْفَ تَصُفُّ الْمَلاَئِكَةُ عِنْدَ رَبِّهَا قَالَ يُتِمُّونَ الصُّفُوفَ الأُوَلَ وَيَتَرَاصُّونَ فِي الصَّفِّ  

ahmad:21024 – Wakīʿ > al-Aʿmash > al-Musayyab b. Rāfiʿ > Tamīm b. Ṭarafah al-Ṭāʾī > Jābir b. Samurah al-Suwāʾī

“The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: ‘Will you not form your rows as the angels form their rows before their Lord?’ We said: ‘How do the angels form their rows before their Lord?’ He said: ‘They complete the first row and they stand close of one another in the line (leaving no gaps between one another).’” (Using translation from Ibn Mājah 992)  

أحمد:٢١٠٢٤ – حَدَّثَنَا وَكِيعٌ حَدَّثَنَا الْأَعْمَشُ عَنْ الْمُسَيَّبِ بْنِ رَافِعٍ عَنْ تَمِيمِ بْنِ طَرَفَةَ الطَّائِيِّ عَنْ جَابِرِ بْنِ سَمُرَةَ السُّوَائِيِّ قَالَ

قَالَ رَسُولُ اللهِ ﷺ أَلَا تَصُفُّونَ كَمَا تَصُفُّ الْمَلَائِكَةُ عِنْدَ رَبِّهَا؟ قَالَ قُلْنَا يَا رَسُولَ اللهِ وَكَيْفَ تَصُفُّ الْمَلَائِكَةُ عِنْدَ رَبِّهَا؟ قَالَ يُتَمِّمُونَ الصُّفُوفَ الْأُوَلَ وَيَتَرَاصُّونَ فِي الصَّفِّ  

ذِكْرُ الْأَمْرِ بِإِتْمَامِ الصَّفِّ الْأَوَّلِ ثُمَّ الَّذِي يَلِيهِ إِذِ اسْتِعْمَالُ ذَلِكَ اسْتِعْمَالُ الْمَلَائِكَةِ مِثْلُهُ

ibnhibban:2154 – Aḥmad b. ʿAlī b. al-Muthanná > Isḥāq b. Ibrāhīm al-Marwazī > Jarīr > al-Aʿmash > al-Musayyib b. Rāfiʿ > Tamīm b. Ṭarafah > Jābir b. Samurah

Why do you stand in rows as the angels do in the presence of their Lord? We asked: how do the angles stand in rows in the presence of their Lord? He replied: they make the first row complete and keep close together in the row. (Using translation from Abū Dāʾūd 661)   

ابن حبّان:٢١٥٤ – أَخْبَرَنَا أَحْمَدُ بْنُ عَلِيِّ بْنِ الْمُثَنَّى قَالَ حَدَّثَنَا إِسْحَاقُ بْنُ إِبْرَاهِيمَ الْمَرْوَزِيُّ قَالَ حَدَّثَنَا جَرِيرٌ عَنِ الْأَعْمَشِ عَنِ الْمُسَيِّبِ بْنِ رَافِعٍ عَنْ تَمِيمِ بْنِ طَرَفَةَ عَنْ جَابِرِ بْنِ سَمُرَةَ قَالَ

دَخَلَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ الْمَسْجِدَ فَقَالَ «أَلَا تَصُفُّونَ كَمَا تَصُفُّ الْمَلَائِكَةُ عِنْدَ رَبِّهِمْ؟ » قَالُوا يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ وَكَيْفَ تَصُفُّ الْمَلَائِكَةُ عِنْدَ رَبِّهِمْ؟ قَالَ «يُتِمُّونَ الصُّفُوفُ الْأُوَلَ وَيَتَرَاصُّونَ فِي الصَّفِّ»  

tabarani:1811 – Muḥammad b. al-Naḍr al-Azdī > Muʿāwiyah b. ʿAmr > Zāʾidah > al-Aʿmash > al-Musayyab b. Rāfiʿ > Tamīm b. Ṭarafah > Jābir b. Samurah

Why do you stand in rows as the angels do in the presence of their Lord? We asked: how do the angles stand in rows in the presence of their Lord? He replied: they make the first row complete and keep close together in the row. (Using translation from Abū Dāʾūd 661)   

الطبراني:١٨١١ – حَدَّثَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ النَّضْرِ الْأَزْدِيُّ ثنا مُعَاوِيَةُ بْنُ عَمْرٍو ثنا زَائِدَةُ عَنِ الْأَعْمَشِ عَنِ الْمُسَيَّبِ بْنِ رَافِعٍ عَنْ تَمِيمِ بْنِ طَرَفَةَ عَنْ جَابِرِ بْنِ سَمُرَةَ قَالَ

دَخَلَ عَلَيْنَا رَسُولُ اللهِ ﷺ فَقَالَ «أَلَا تَصُفُّونَ كَمَا تَصُفُّ الْمَلَائِكَةُ عِنْدَ رَبِّهِمْ؟» فَقَالُوا يَا رَسُولَ اللهِ كَيْفَ تَصُفُّ الْمَلَائِكَةُ عِنْدَ رَبِّهِمْ؟ قَالَ «يُتِمُّونَ الصُّفُوفَ الْمُقَدَّمَةَ وَيَتَرَاصُّونَ فِي الصَّفِّ»