Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,

As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh. (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)

One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:

asalam valaikum varah mutulahi vabaraktu. my name is sadia and i am 10 years old. my question for this topic is if someone is praying and mistakely someone dint see the person who is praying and went across the person sho is pray will that person will be punished by allah.

thankyou,

(There may be some grammatical and spelling errors in the above statement. The forum does not change anything from questions, comments and statements received from our readers for circulation in confidentiality.)

Answer:

Prohibition of passing in front of a praying person

In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is none worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

Fiqh-us-Sunnah Fiqh 2.78a

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) .

Abu Hurairah relates that the Prophet (saws) said: "When one of you prays, he should place something in front of him (sutra).  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.

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 Prophet (saws) concerning passing in front of someone who is praying.  He said that the Messenger of Allah (saws) said: "If one knew [the sin] of passing in front of one who is praying, he would rather wait forty [...] than to pass in front of him.

Related by Bukhari, Muslim, Tirmidhi, Ahmad and Abu Dawood.

Zaid ibn Khalid relates that the Messenger of Allah 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."

Related by al-Bazzar.

Fiqh-us-Sunnah Fiqh 2.79

Preventing someone from passing in front of a praying person

It is permissible to keep some one 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 salah 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. One day I was with Abu Sa'id and he was offering salah 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'id. 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 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 said: 'I heard the Prophet (saws) 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 the Shaytaan."'

Related by al-Bukhari and Muslim.

If a person unintentionally crosses the path of a person in salah, then there is no sin upon him owing to the fact that he was unaware.

But if one intentionally crosses the path of a person in salah then it is likely that he will be accountable to Allah swt.

However, in both cases the prayers of the mussalli will not be affected.

Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is only ones. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

Your brother and well wisher in Islam,

Members of Islamhelpline