Come forward and be close to me and let those who come after you, follow your lead. If people continue to fall behind, Allah puts them behind
Authentic hadithأن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم رأى في أصحابه تأخُّرًا فقال لهم: «تَقَدَّمُوا فَأْتَمُّوا بي، وليأتمَّ بكم مَن بعدكم، لا يزال قومٌ يتأخرون حتى يؤخرَّهم اللهُ».
The Messenger (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) perceived a tendency among his Companions to stand in the back rows, and he said to them: "Come forward and be close to me and let those who come after you, follow your lead. If people continue to fall behind, Allah puts them behind."
Explanation
This noble Hadīth points to the merit of being close to the Imām and indicates that the last rows should follow the lead of the first ones, warning those who lag behind in the back rows of lagging behind in receiving Allah's mercy and grace and in obtaining high status, knowledge, and so on.
Source · Narrated by Muslim
From the Hadith Encyclopedia (hadeethenc.com).