Sunan Abi Dawud 668
سنن أبي داود#668Sahihحَدَّثَنَا أَبُو الْوَلِيدِ الطَّيَالِسِيُّ، وَسُلَيْمَانُ بْنُ حَرْبٍ، قَالاَ حَدَّثَنَا شُعْبَةُ، عَنْ قَتَادَةَ، عَنْ أَنَسٍ، قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم " سَوُّوا صُفُوفَكُمْ فَإِنَّ تَسْوِيَةَ الصَّفِّ مِنْ تَمَامِ الصَّلاَةِ " .
Anas reported the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) as saying :Straighten your rows for the straightening of the rows is part of perfecting the prayer
Scholarly Authentication
The label above is the grade most of these scholars gave — one dissenting opinion no longer speaks for all of them. If any scholar calls a narration fabricated, that verdict is shown instead, whatever the others say. Each scholar's own wording:
Al-AlbaniSahih
Muhammad Muhyi Al-Din Abdul HamidSahih
Shuaib Al ArnautSahih
Zubair Ali ZaiSahih Bukhari (723) Sahih Muslim (433)
In-book reference: 2:278