What is the ruling regarding passage in front of a person praying who has no barrier (Sutrah)?
Chapter on Imamate and Congregational Prayer
Al-Mughni
Book of Prayer
Primary text
If a person prays without a barrier (Sutrah) in front of him, and something that normally invalidates prayer passes close by him, the prayer is invalidated. If it is something that does not invalidate prayer, it is disliked (makruh). If the passage occurs at a distant point, no specific legal ruling applies.
Supporting text
There is no known scholarly determination defining what constitutes 'near' or 'distant' in this context. 'Ikrimah stated that if the distance between the praying person and the object passing was equivalent to a stone's throw (qadhfat hajar), the prayer is not invalidated. A narration attributed to the Prophet, peace be upon him, mentions that if one prays without a barrier, the prayer is invalidated by the passing of a dog, donkey, pig, Magian, Jew, or woman, and it is sufficient if they pass at the distance of a stone's throw. However, this narration is not definitively established as being directly from the Prophet, and it contains elements rejected by consensus, such as the inclusion of those entities other than the three specifically mentioned (dog, donkey, pig). Furthermore, the ruling cannot be strictly limited to the place of prostration, as the Prophet's statement, peace be upon him, regarding the black dog passing if there is nothing before him like the back of a saddle (akhirat ar-rahl), implies that prayer is invalidated by the dog's passage even beyond the barrier's placement, and a barrier is usually further than the place of prostration.