Placing a Sutrah In front When Performing Solāh
By Sayyid Sābiq
In the name of Allāh, the Most
Gracious, the Most Merciful;
All the praise and Thanks is due
to Allāh, the Lord of al-'ālamīn. I testify that there is none worthy of
worship except Allāh, and that Muhammad, Sallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam is His
Messenger.
A
Sutrah is anything which the person sets up in front of him as a partition in
order to keep others from passing in front of him and to keep his eyesight from
going behind this partition. If he does not fear that someone will pass in
front of him, it is not desirable for him to place a sutrah in front of
himself.
1 - Solat toward your Sutrah
It is preferred for the one who is Solat
to place a Sutrah (or some sort of partition) in front of him in order to keep
others from passing in front of him and to keep his eyesight from going behind
this partition.
Abu Sa`id Al-Khudri (radiyallāhu`anhu)
reports that the Allah’s Messenger (Sallallāhu `alayhi wasallam) said: "When one of you Solats, he should Solat toward his
sutrah and he should be close to it." This is related by Abu Dawud
and Ibn Majah.
Abdullah Ibn 'Umar (radiyallāhu`anhu)
relates that “When the Allah’s Messenger
(Sallallāhu `alayhi wasallam) went out to Solātul `Eid, he asked for a
spear and placed it in front of himself and he offered Solāh toward it and the
people Solāh behind him. And he would do that while he was traveling so that
those in authority [for the affairs of the Muslims] would also do this.” This
is related by al-Bukhari, Muslim, and Abu Dawud.
The Hanafi and Maliki scholars are
of the opinion that one should place a sutrah in front of him only if he fears
that someone may pass in front of him; if he does not fear that someone will
pass in front of him, it is not desirable for him to place a sutrah in front of
himself. This opinion is based on the hadith of Ibn `Abbas (radiyallāhu`anhu)
who said that the Allah’s Messenger (Sallallāhu `alayhi wasallam) Solat in an
open area and there was nothing in front of him. This is related by Ahmad and
Abu Dawud. Al-Baihaqi related it and said: “It is supported by a report from
al-Fazhl Ibn `Abbas (radiyallāhu`anhu) with a reliable chain of transmitters.”
2 - Requirements for
a Sutrah or partition
Anything which the person sets up in
front of him will qualify as a sutrah, even if it is only the end of his bed.
Sabrah ibn Mu`abid reports that the Allah’s Messenger (Sallallāhu `alayhi wasallam) said: “When one of you Solats, he should make
a partition for his Solāh, even if it is an arrow.” This is related by
Ahmad and by al-Hakim who said it is sahih according to the criteria of Muslim.
Al-Haithami observes: “Ahmad's narrators are sound.”
Abu Hurairah (radiyallāhu`anhu)
relates that the Allah’s Messenger (Sallallāhu `alayhi wasallam) said: “When one of you Solāh, he should place something in
front of him. If he cannot find anything, he should prop up his staff [in front
of him]. If he does not have a staff, he should draw a line [on the ground in
front of him] then nothing that passes in front of him will harm him.”
This is related by Ahmad and Abu Dawud and Ibn Hibban. The later classifies it
sahih as did Ahmad and Ibn al-Madini. Al-Baihaqi says: “There is no problem
with that hadith regarding that ruling, Allah willing.”
It is related that the Allah’s
Messenger (Sallallāhu `alayhi wasallam) Solāh toward a column in his masjid,
toward a tree, toward a bed upon which `Aishah (radiyallāhu`anha) was lying,
and toward his riding animal, and toward his saddle, and so on.
Talhah (radiyallāhu`anhu) says: “We used to Solāh and the animals would pass in front of
us. We mentioned that to the Allah’s Messenger (Sallallāhu `alayhi wasallam)
and he said: ‘If anything the size of a saddle is in front of you, nothing that
passes beyond it would harm you.’” This is related by Ahmad, Muslim, Abu
Dawud, Ibn Majah, and at-Tirmidzi who call it hasan sahih.
3- The Sutrah of
the imam is Sutrah of the followers
The sutrah of the imam is the Sutrah
of everyone behind him.
`Amr ibn Shu`aib relates from his
father on the authority of his grandfather who said: “We
were descending on a path near Makkah with the Allah’s Messenger (Sallallāhu
`alayhi wasallam) and the time for prayer came. The Allah’s Messenger
(Sallallāhu `alayhi wasallam) prayed toward a wall and we were behind him. A
lamb tried to pass in front of him and he kept preventing the lamb from doing
so until its stomach was up against the wall. Finally, it passed behind him.”
This is related by Ahmad and Abu Dawud.
Ibn `Abbas (radiyallāhu`anhu) says: “I was riding a donkey and was at the time on the
threshold of maturity, and the Allah’s Messenger (Sallallāhu `alayhi wasallam)
was leading the people in solah at Mina. I passed in front of the row and let
the animal graze, and then I joined the rows and no one objected to this.”
This is related by the group.
These hadith prove that it is
allowed to pass in front of people following the imam, and that the sutrah is
required for the imam and the people praying individually.
4- Proximity of the
sutrah
Al-Baghawi says: “The people of knowledge prefer that the sutrah be so
close that there is only enough space to make the sajdah, and the same applies
to the distance between the rows in the Solat.”
In the hadith mentioned in the
beginning of this section it is stated: “And he should be close to it.”
Bilal (radiyallāhu`anhu) reports
that between the Allah’s Messenger (Sallallāhu `alayhi wasallam) and the wall
in front of him there was a distance of three arm spans. This is related by
Ahmad and an-Nasa`ie, and al-Bukhari has recorded something similar.
Sahal ibn Sa`ad says: “Between the Allah’s Messenger (Sallallāhu `alayhi wasallam) [and his sutrah] was enough space for a sheep to pass.” This is
related by al-Bukhari and Muslim.
5 - Prohibition of
passing in front of a praying person
It is forbidden to pass in front of
a person who is praying (i.e., between him and his sutrah).
There are many hadith which forbid
passing between a person and his sutrah, and describe such an act as a major
sin.
Busr ibn Sa`id says that Zaid ibn
Khalid sent him to Abu Juhaim to ask him what he had heard from the Allah’s
Messenger (Sallallāhu `alayhi wasallam) concerning passing in front of someone
who is solat. He said that the Allah’s Messenger (Sallallāhu `alayhi wa sallam)
said: “If one knew [the sin] of passing in front of
one who is solat, he would rather wait forty [...] than to pass in front of
him.” This is related by the group.
Zaid ibn Khalid relates that the
Allah’s Messenger (Sallallāhu `alayhi wasallam) said: “If
the one who passes in front of one who is praying knew what was upon him [of
sin], it would be better for him to stand [and wait] for forty autumns than to
pass in front of him.” This is related by al-Bazzar with a sahih chain.
Ibn al-Qayyim (rahimallāh)writes: “Ibn Hibban and others say that the prohibition mentioned
in this hadith applies when one is praying with a sutrah. If one is praying
without a sutrah, it is not forbidden to pass in front of him. As a proof, Abu
Hatim [i.e., Ibn Hibban] argues by the hadith, in his sahih, from al-Mutalib
ibn Abi Wid`ah who said: ‘I saw the Allah’s Messenger (Sallallāhu `alayhi wasallam), when he finished the circumambulation [of the Ka`abah], he went to the
end of the circuit and he prayed two raka`at and there was nothing between him
and the people who were circumambulating.” Abu
Hatim says: “This report proves that it is
permissible to pass in front of a person who is praying but without a sutrah.
In this lies a clear proof that the warning concerning passing in front of one
who is praying refers only to one who is praying toward his sutrah and does not
refer to one who does not have a sutrah.” Abu
Hatim explains that the Allah’s Messenger solat was without anything between
him and the people circumambulating the Ka`abah. At the end of the hadith of
al-Mutalib, he records: “I saw the Allah’s Messenger (Sallallāhu `alayhi wasallam) offering solah facing the black stone and the men and women were
passing in front of him and there was no sutrah between him and them”.
In ‘ar-Rawdah an-Nadiyah’, it is
stated that if one has no sutrah or is far away from the sutrah, then he is not
to keep anyone from passing in front of him and it is not forbidden to pass in
front of him although it is preferred not to do so.
6 - Preventing
someone from passing in front of a praying person
It is permissible to keep someone
from passing in front of a person who is praying.
If a praying person has a sutrah in
front of him, then it is allowed for him to prevent any human or animal from
passing in front of him. If a person passes in front of him from beyond the
sutrah, then the person in Solat is neither to prevent the passer-by nor will
he be harmed by him.
Abu Saleh as-Saman said: “I will
narrate to you what I heard and saw from Abu Sa`id al-Khudri
(radiyallāhu`anhu). One day I was with Abu Sa'id (radiyallāhu`anhu) and he was
offering solah on Friday facing something which concealed him from the people
when a young man from the tribe of Mu`ait came and tried to pass in front of
Abu Sa`eed. He pushed him back. He tried again and Abu Sa`id struck him harder.
The two scuffled. The man went to Marwan to complain. Abu Sa`id (radiyallāhu`anhu)
also went to Marwan. Marwan asked: ‘What
has happened between you and the son of your brother that caused him to
complain?’ Abu Sa`id (radiyallāhu`anhu) said: ‘I heard the Allah’s Messenger
(Sallallāhu `alayhi wasallam) say: ‘If any of you prays
toward a sutrah and someone tries to pass in front of you, then turn him away.
If he refuses, use force for he is a devil.’” This is related by
al-Bukhari and Muslim.
7 - Passing of
anything do not invalidate the prayer
The Solat is not invalidated by
anything (passing in front of the praying person). `Ali, `Uthman, Ibn Al-Musayyab,
ash-Sh`abiy, Malik, ash-Shafi`ie, Sufyan al-Thawri and the Hanafi scholars are
of the opinion that the Solat is not invalidated by anything which passes in
front of a person.
This is based on the hadith recorded
by Abu Dawud from Abu al-Waddak who says: “A young
person tried to pass in front of Abu Sa`id al-Khudri (radiyallāhu`anhu) while
he was praying. Abu Sa`id held him off and then the young man tried again. Abu
Sa`id pushed him off. This happened three times and when [Abu Sa`id] finished
[the prayer], he said: ‘The solah is not invalidated by anything but the
Allah’s Messenger (Sallallāhu `alayhi wasallam) said: 'Repulse [the person who
is trying to pass in front of you] to the best of your ability for he is a
devil.’”
And Allāh Almighty Knows best.
[Excerpted from Fiqh-as-Sunnah, Volume
2:“The Sutrah or Partition
In Front Of One Who Is Praying” By Sayyid Sābiq ;Via http://ymsite.com/home/]
All About The Solah
13. Places Where Offering
Solāh Is Prohibited ; 14. Placing a Sutrah In
front of One Who is Performing Solah;
15. What is permissible
During the Solāh?; 16. The Acts that Renders
Solāh Invalid; 17. Disliked Actions during
the Solāh; 18. The Solāh in Times of
Fear or Danger; 19. The Solāh of a Sick
Person ;
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