I offered the Friday prayer along with Anas ibn Malik. We were pushed to the pillars (due to the crowd of people). We, therefore, stopped forward and backward. Anas then said: We used to avoid it (setting a row between the pillars) during the time of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. (Using translation from Abū Dāʾūd 673)   

قَدْ كُنَّا نَتَّقِي هَذَا عَلَى عَهْدِ رَسُولِ اللهِ ﷺ  

[Machine] "We used to be expelled, to the point that we were not allowed to stand in between the rows during prayer, during the time of the Prophet ﷺ."  

كُنَّا عَلَى عَهْدِ النَّبِيِّ ﷺ نُطْرَدُ طَرْدًا أَنْ نَقُومَ بَيْنَ السَّوَارِي فِي الصَّلَاةِ  

[Machine] In its text, do not separate between the columns, and by Allah, He knows that the cylinder separates between them and the connection of the row. If it is alone or they have not passed what is between the two lines, it is not obligatory, if Allah wills, according to what we have been narrated in the established Hadith from Ibn Umar who said: I asked Bilal, "Where did the Messenger of Allah ﷺ pray in the Kaaba?" He said, "Between the two front pillars."  

فِي مَتْنِهِ لَا تَصُفُّوا بَيْنَ الْأَسَاطِينِ وَهَذَا وَاللهُ أَعْلَمُ لِأَنَّ الْأُسْطُوَانَةَ تَحُولُ بَيْنَهُمْ وَبَيْنَ وَصْلِ الصَّفِّ فَإِنْ كَانَ مُنْفَرِدًا أَوْ لَمْ يُجَاوِزُوا مَا بَيْنَ السَّارِيَتَيْنِ لَمْ يُكْرَهْ إِنْ شَاءَ اللهُ تَعَالَى لِمَا رُوِّينَا فِي الْحَدِيثِ الثَّابِتِ عَنِ ابْنِ عُمَرَ قَالَ سَأَلْتُ بِلَالًا أَيْنَ صَلَّى رَسُولُ اللهِ ﷺ يَعْنِي فِي الْكَعْبَةِ؟ فَقَالَ بَيْنَ الْعَمُودَيْنِ الْمُقَدَّمَيْنِ