بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
SHARH OF BULUGH AL MARAAM
Book 2, Chapter 4: The
Sutrah
(Partition in front
of one who is praying), Page 89
BY SHAIKH ABDULLAH AL-FAISAL
3rd
February 2013/22 Rabi Al-Awal A.H.
Edited
by: AbuHafiza & AT6
TOPIC: SUTRAH
باب
سترة المصلي
Chapter 4: The Sutrah (or Partition) In Front of One, Who is
Praying
عن أبي
جهيم بن الحارث - رضي الله عنه - قال: قال رسول الله - صلى الله عليه وسلم: «لو
يعلم المار بين يدي المصلي ماذا عليه من الإثم لكان أن يقف أربعين خيرا له من أن
يمر بين يديه». متفق عليه، واللفظ للبخاري. ووقع في «البزار» من وجه آخر: «أربعين
خريفا»
Narrated Abu Juhaim bin al Harith (RAA): The Prophet (Sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) said, "If the person who passed in front of another person
in prayer knew the magnitude of his sin he would rather wait for 40 (days,
months or years) rather than pass in front of him."
[Agreed upon, and the wording is al-Bukhari's. Al-Bazzar narrated
with a different chain of narrators, "forty Autumns"]
- What this hadith is saying is that it is haraam for you to pass in
front of a person making salah.
- The word sutrah has a
linguistic and a technical meaning.
- The
linguistic meaning is a barrier or a partition or a screen.
- The
technical meaning is to erect a barrier from passersby during your salah.
WHAT IS THE HUKUM OF SUTRAH?
- It is
sunnah mu'akkadah
Shaykh
Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allaah have mercy on him) said, after quoting the evidence
for both points of view: The evidence of those who say that the sutrah is
Sunnah, who are the majority, is stronger, and this is the more correct
opinion.
End quote
[From al-Sharh al-Mumti’ (3/277)]
- But
Dawud Ad-Dhahiri made the sutrah fard.
- The Prophet (Sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) was praying in the desert alone and did not put
a sutrah.
- This
means it is sunnah mu'akkadah.
وعن
عائشة - رضي الله عنها- قالت: سئل رسول الله - صلى الله عليه وسلم - في غزوة تبوك
- عن سترة المصلي. فقال: «مثل مؤخرة الرحل». أخرجه مسلم
Narrated 'A'ishah (RAA): "Allah's Messenger (Sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) was asked during the expedition of Tabuk about the sutrah of
the one who is praying. He said, "Something such as the back of the saddle
(to be put in front of him)"
[Related by Muslim]
- The scholars say the sutrah should be an arm’s length long.
- The Prophet
(Sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) would use a wall of a building, a tree, etc. for sutrah.
وعن
سبرة بن معبد الجهني - رضي الله عنه - قال: قال رسول الله - صلى الله عليه وسلم:
«ليستتر أحدكم في صلاته ولو بسهم». أخرجه الحاكم
Narrated Sabrah bin Ma'bad al-Juhani, The Prophet (Sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) said, "When one of you prays, he should put a sutrah
(partition) in front of him, even if it is only an arrow."
[Related by al-Hakim]
وعن
سبرة بن معبد الجهني - رضي الله عنه - قال: قال رسول الله - صلى الله عليه وسلم:
«ليستتر أحدكم في صلاته ولو بسهم». أخرجه الحاكم
Narrated Sabrah bin Ma'bad al-Juhani, The Prophet (Sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) said, "When one of you prays, he should put a sutrah
(partition) in front of him, even if it is only an arrow."
[Related by al-Hakim]
- This
is the hadith used by the Dhahiriyyah madhab to say it is fard.
- But
this commandment of the Prophet means recommended not
fard.
وعن أبي
ذر - رضي الله عنه - قال: قال رسول الله - صلى الله عليه وسلم: «يقطع صلاة المرء
المسلم - إذا لم يكن بين يديه مثل مؤخرة الرحل - المرأة، والحمار، والكلب الأسود
... » الحديث. وفيه: «الكلب الأسود شيطان». أخرجه مسلم
Narrated Abu Dharr al-Ghifari (RAA): Allah's Messenger (Sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) said, "When any one of you stands for prayer and there is
nothing in front of him (at least) equal to the back of the saddle, as a
sutrah, his prayer would be cut off by (the passing of a) woman, an ass, and a
black Dog." This narration also has, "The black dog is a devil."
[Related by Muslim]
- In order for the salah to be nullified by the pass of a woman, it
has to be a woman who has reached the age of puberty.
- The dog passing in front of you has to be a black dog for the
salah to be nullified.
- The hadith that mentions the dog only is a general hadith.
- The hadith mentioning the black dog is the specific hadith.
- In usool ul fiqh, the specific hadith is given preference over the
general hadith.
- This applies to any hujjah.
وله: عن
أبي هريرة - رضي الله عنه - نحوه دون: «الكلب».
Narrated Abu Huraira a similar narration, but without mentioning
the dog
ولأبي
داود، والنسائي: عن ابن عباس - رضي الله عنهما- نحوه، دون آخره. وقيد المرأة
بالحائض
Abu Dawud and an-Nasa'i related on the authority of Ibn 'Abbas
(RAA):
A similar narration without the last sentence, and he mentioned
'The woman having her menses.'
وعن أبي
سعيد الخدري - رضي الله عنه - قال: قال رسول الله - صلى الله عليه وسلم: «إذا صلى
أحدكم إلى شيء يستره من الناس، فأراد أحد أن يجتاز بين يديه فليدفعه، فإن أبى
فليقاتله، فإنما هو شيطان». متفق عليه. وفي رواية: «فإن معه القرين»
Narrated Abu Sa'id al-Khudri (RAA): Allah's Messenger (Sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) said, 'If any one of you prays toward a sutrah (a barrier) and
someone tries to pass in front of him, and then push him away. If he refuses,
then fight him, for he is a devil."
[Agreed upon In another narration, “For be has his evil companion
(Qareen) with him."]
-
The Prophet (Sallallahu alayhi wa sallam)
said to push away the person who tries to pass in front of you when you are
praying towards a sutrah, and if he refuses to fight him.
- This is because the sutrah is supposed to stop him.
- So for him to pass between you and the sutrah, it means he is
the shaytaan.
- So you should fight him.
- It is haraam to pass in
front of a person who is praying.
- This applies to the place of sajda.
- So in a masjid if you pass in front of someone, but not in the
place where he puts his head for sajda, you have not violated it.
THE 4
CATEGORIES OF PEOPLE WITH REGARDS TO THE SUNNAH
1. THE SIN IS ON THE PASSER IF THERE WAS AN ALTERNATIVE PLACE TO
PASS, YET HE
PASSES IN FRONT OF A
PRAYING PERSON
2. THE ONE PASSING HAS NO ALTERNATIVE ROUTE TO TAKE AND THE ONE
PRAYING HAD
AN ALTERNATIVE PLACE TO
PRAY AWAY FROM THE PEOPLE
- In this case the sin is on the one praying.
3. THE ONE PASSING HAD AN ALTERNATIVE ROUTE TO PASS AND THE ONE
PRAYING HAS
AN ALTERNATIVE PLACE TO
PRAY AWAY FROM THE PEOPLE
- In
this case the sin is on both of them.
4. THE ONE PASSING BY HAD NO ALTERNATIVE ROUTE TO PASS AND THE ONE
PRAYING
HAD NO ALTERNATIVE PLACE
TO PRAY
- In this case the sin is on neither of them.
- If a man passes in front of you, it is considered a major sin
but your salah is not bautil.
- The salah is only bautil if three things pass in front of you:
1. A woman
2. A donkey
3. A black dog
THE 3 EXCEPTIONS TO THE RULE
1. YOU CAN WALK IN FRONT OF A MAN WHO PRAYS AT THE ENTRANCE OF A
MASJID IF
THERE IS ONLY ONE
ENTRANCE
- The sin will be on the one praying.
2. YOU CAN WALK IN FRONT OF PEOPLE TO FILL THE GAPS IF THEY LEAVE
GAPS IN THE
FRONT ROW
3. IF YOU ENTER A MASJID AND SEE 2, 3 OR 4 LINES, YOU ARE ALLOWED
TO WALK IN
FRONT OF PEOPLE ON THE
LINES BECAUSE THE SUTRAH OF THE IMAM IS ENOUGH
The evidence for that is the report in which ‘Abd-Allaah ibn
‘Abbaas said: “I came along riding on a female donkey one day when I had just
reached the age of puberty. The Messenger of Allaah (Sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) was leading the people in prayer in Mina, without any kind of
wall in front of him. I passed in front of part of the row, then I got down and
sent the donkey to graze, and joined the row, and no one rebuked me for that.”
(Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 472; Muslim, 504)
- If a donkey walks in front of people praying the salah is not
broken.
- However it is if the donkey walks in front of the imam.
- This is because if you are praying in a group, the sutrah of the
imam is what counts.
Imaam al-Bukhaari gave this hadeeth the heading of “Sutrat
al-Imaam sutrat man khalfahu (the sutrah of the imaam is the sutrah of those
behind him).” This hadeeth clearly proves our point, which is that the person
who is praying behind the imaam does not have to have a sutrah, and it does not
matter what passes in front of him, especially since Ibn ‘Abbaas passed in
front of them with his donkey, which is one of the things which invalidates
prayer if it passes in front of the imaam or a person who is praying on his
own.
- Ibn Abbas passed in front of people praying while riding his
donkey because it is the sutrah of the Imam that counts.
- So if a black dog passes in front of an imam, the salah is
invalidated.
Narrated `Aisha: It is not good that you people have made us (women)
equal to dogs and donkeys. No doubt I saw Allah's Apostle praying while I used
to lie between him and the Qibla and when he wanted to prostrate, he pushed my
legs and I withdrew them.
[Bukhari]
- There is a difference between a woman lying down and the one
passing.
- The scholars said you are allowed to pray facing a person lying
down.
- Aisha didn’t pass in front of the prophet (Sallallahu alayhi wa sallam).
- She was lying still in her house.
- If the thing that invalidates salah passes beyond the sutrah,
your salah is not bautil.
- However if they pass between you and the sutrah then your salah
is bautil.
- You should do your best to stop them from passing between you
and the sutrah.
WHAT DID THE PROPHET USE AS SUTRAH
1. SPEAR
2. POLE
3. TREE
4. BED WITH A WOMAN SLEEPING ON IT
5. CAMEL
6. THE WALL IN THE HOUSE
- The length of the sutrah should be an arm’s length.
ARE YOU ALLOWED TO USE THE GRAVE AS A SUTRAH?
- This is haram.
- There is no difference between the sutrah of a man and that of a
woman.
- Just like there is no difference between the salah of a man and
a woman.
It was narrated that Abu Marthad al-Ghanawi said: The Messenger
of Allaah (Sallallahu
alayhi wa sallam) said: “Do not sit on graves,
or pray towards them.”
(Narrated by Muslim, 972)
Abu Hurayra also reported that a black woman or youth used to
sweep the mosque. The Messenger of Allah (Sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) missed her and asked after her or him. They said, "She
died." He said, "Why did you not inform me?" It was as if they
thought little of her or him. He said, "Show me the grave." They
directed him to it and he prayed over it. Then he said, "These graves are
filled with darkness surrounding their inhabitants. Allah Almighty illuminates
them for them by my praying over them."
[Al-Bukhari (458) and Muslim (956)]
On the authority of Abu Huraira (RA) that the Messenger of Allah
(Sallallahu
alayhi wa sallam) announced the death of
al-Najashi (the Negus, the ruler of Abyssinia) on the day on which he died. He
took them out to the prayer place, arranged them in rows and said four takbeers
(i.e., offered the funeral prayer for him).
[Al-Bukhari (1333) and Muslim (951)]
-If the country is infested with grave worshippers then you should
go ahead with the opinion of Imam Malik.
- But if it is not then you can go ahead with the opinion of the
jamhoor (majority).
- If a person dies in a remote part of the world with no Muslim
community to pray over him, you are allowed to do the absent janaza prayer over
him.
وعن أبي
هريرة - رضي الله عنه - قال: قال رسول الله - صلى الله عليه وسلم: «إذا صلى أحدكم
فليجعل تلقاء وجهه شيئا، فإن لم يجد فلينصب عصا، فإن لم يكن فليخط خطا، ثم لا يضره
من مر بين يديه». أخرجه أحمد وابن ماجه، وصححه ابن حبان، ولم يصب من زعم أنه
مضطرب، بل هو حسن
Narrated Abu Huraira (RAA): The Messenger of Allah (Sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) said, 'When one of you prays, be should place something in
front of him. If he cannot find anything, he should set up a stick [in front of
him]. If he does not have a stick, he should draw a line [on the ground in
front of him] then nothing that passes in front of him will harm him."
[Related by Ahmad and Ibn Majah]
وعن أبي
سعيد الخدري - رضي الله عنه - قال: قال رسول الله - صلى الله عليه وسلم: «لا يقطع
الصلاة شيء، وادرأ ما استطعت». أخرجه أبو داود، وفي سنده ضعف
Narrated Abu Sa'id al-Khudri (RAA): Allah's Messenger (Sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) said, "Prayer is not invalidated by anything, but pushes
away [the person who is trying to pass in front of you] to the best of your
ability."
[Related by Abu Dawud, but there is a weakness in its chain of
narrators]
- A man cannot invalidate salah but you should push him away if he
tries to pass in front of you.
