What is the ruling on women passing in front of a person praying?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The Shaykh : And if [Ash-Shu'ara 26:136-139]. O Muslims
The questioner : The questioner says: What is the ruling on women passing in front of a person praying?
The Shaykh : The correct view is that if women pass in front of a person praying and there is no barrier (sutrah) in front of him, it invalidates the prayer, and it is obligatory for him to repeat the prayer from the beginning, as indicated by the hadith of Abu Dharr in Sahih Muslim.
Some people, may Allah guide us and them, in this mosque, pass by the person praying and walk in front of him, even though the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) saidSahih Muslim 507a, the narration in the two Sahihs is that he should stand for forty, and the narration of al-Bazzar is that he should stand for forty years, meaning a year, Sunan Abi Dawud 701Sahih (Al-Albani) This hadith is general for the Sacred Mosque and other mosques and other places on earth. Whoever claims that the Sacred Mosque is excluded from this generality, and whoever claims that and has evidence, let him guide us to it, for if he guides us to it, it is incumbent upon us to clarify it in this place, as we have said here regarding the generality. And in the Sunnah, as far as we know, there is nothing indicating that it is permissible for a person to pass in front of a person praying in the Sacred Mosque. We ask our brothers whom Allah has granted knowledge to clarify for us from the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) that it is permissible for a person to pass in front of a person praying in this mosque, and we are waiting for their guidance. Otherwise, it is obligatory for us to adhere to the generality of the saying of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) Sunan Abi Dawud 701Sahih (Al-Albani).
or are not of the advisors. (137) This is not but the custom of the former peoples, (138) And we are not to be punished." (139) And they denied him, so We destroyed them.
لَمْ تَكُن مِّنَ الْوَاعِظِينَ إِنْ هَٰذَا إِلَّا خُلُقُ الْأَوَّلِينَ وَمَا نَحْنُ بِمُعَذَّبِينَ فَكَذَّبُوهُ فَأَهْلَكْنَاهُمْThe questioner : The questioner says: What is the ruling on women passing in front of a person praying?
The Shaykh : The correct view is that if women pass in front of a person praying and there is no barrier (sutrah) in front of him, it invalidates the prayer, and it is obligatory for him to repeat the prayer from the beginning, as indicated by the hadith of Abu Dharr in Sahih Muslim.
Some people, may Allah guide us and them, in this mosque, pass by the person praying and walk in front of him, even though the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said
If anyone who passes in front of a man who is praying knew the responsibility he incurs, he would stand still forty (years) rather than to pass in front of him
لو يعلم المار بين يدي المصلي ماذا عليه لكان أن يقف أربعين خيرا من أن يمر بين يديهIf one who passes in front of
لو يعلم المار بين يديIf the one passing in front of the person praying knew what sin would be upon him if he passed in front of him, he would stand for forty years and not pass in front of him.
المصلي ماذا عليه من الإثم إذا مر بين يديه لوقف أربعين سنة ولم يمر بين يديهIf one who passes in front of a man who is praying knew the responsibility he incurs, he would prefer to stand still for forty. . . rather than pass in front of him.
لو يعلم المار بين يدي المصلي ماذا عليه لكان أن يقف أربعين خير من أن يمر بين يديه
Source
قناة «فضيلة الشيخ محمد بن صالح العثيمين»، 2 - 13 - دروس وفتاوى المسجد الحرام للعام 1402 هـ - الدرس الثاني - الشيخ محمد بن صالح العثيمين — youtube.com
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.