On the authority of Anas ibn Malik, from the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, who said: "Close your ranks, draw near together, and align your necks. By Him in Whose hand my soul is, I indeed see the devil entering through the gaps in the row as if they were small black sheep." (1)

668 - Haddathana Abu al-Walid al-Tayalisi and Sulayman ibn Harb, who said: Haddathana Shu'bah, from Qatadah, from Anas ibn Malik, who said: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: "Straighten your rows, for straightening the row is part of the perfection of the prayer." (2)

669 - Haddathana Qutaybah, Haddathana Hatim ibn Isma'il, from Mus'ab ibn Thabit ibn 'Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr, from Muhammad ibn Muslim ibn al-Sa'ib, the keeper of the maqsurah, who said:--------------------------------------------
(1) Its chain of transmission is authentic. Aban: he is Ibn Yazid al-'Attar.
It was also recorded by al-Nasa'i in "al-Kubra" (891) via the route of Abu Hisham al-Mughirah ibn Salamah, from Aban, with this chain of transmission.
It is in "Musnad Ahmad" (13735).
And see what follows under numbers (668 - 671).
His saying: "as if they were al-hadhaf" — they are small black sheep, and it is said that they are most numerous in Yemen.
Al-Khattabi said this.
(2) Its chain of transmission is authentic. Abu al-Walid al-Tayalisi: he is Hisham ibn 'Abd al-Malik.
It was also recorded by al-Bukhari (723), Muslim (433), and Ibn Majah (993) via the route of Shu'bah, with this chain of transmission.
It is in "Musnad Ahmad" (12231), and "Sahih Ibn Hibban" (2171) and (2174). It was also recorded by al-Bukhari (718), and Muslim (434) via the route of 'Abd al-'Aziz ibn Suhayb, and al-Bukhari (719) and (725), and al-Nasa'i in "al-Kubra" (890) via the route of Humayd al-Tawil, and al-Nasa'i (889) via the route of Thabit al-Bunani, all three from Anas.
It is in "Musnad Ahmad" (12011) and (12646), and "Sahih Ibn Hibban" (2173).
And see what precedes it.