"‏ إِنَّ اللَّهَ وَمَلاَئِكَتَهُ يُصَلُّونَ عَلَى الَّذِينَ يَلُونَ الصُّفُوفَ الأُوَلَ وَمَا مِنْ خَطْوَةٍ أَحَبَّ إِلَى اللَّهِ مِنْ خَطْوَةٍ يَمْشِيهَا يَصِلُ بِهَا صَفًّا ‏"

we stood for praying at Mina when the Imam had not come out. Some of us sat down (and I too). An old man from Kufah said to me: Why did you down? I said : Ibn Buraidah, this is Sumud (i.e., waiting for the Imam in the standing condition). The old man then narrated a tradition from ‘Abd al-Rahman b. ‘Awaajah on the authority of al-Bara’ b. ‘Azib: We would stand in rows during the time of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) for a long time before he pronounced Takbir. He further said; Allah, the Exalted and Mighty, sends blessings and the angles invoke blessings for those who are nearer to the front rows. No step is more liking to Allah than a step which one takes to join the row (of the prayer).