The distance for passing in front of the one praying
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Question:
The Shaykh explains: What is the distance within which it is prohibited to pass in front of the one praying? And where does this distance begin? Does it start from the position of his feet or from the place of his prostration?
Answer:
If the one praying has a sutrah (barrier) in front of him, he must not pass between him and his sutrah, but he may pass behind it. However, if he does not have a sutrah in front of him, the prohibited distance is three cubits. These three cubits begin from his feet, from the feet of the one praying, and extend three cubits in front of him. No one may pass through this area, and there is no harm in passing behind it. It should be noted that if the one praying is a ma'mum (one praying behind the imam) in the rows behind the imam, the imam's sutrah serves as a sutrah for him.
The Shaykh explains: What is the distance within which it is prohibited to pass in front of the one praying? And where does this distance begin? Does it start from the position of his feet or from the place of his prostration?
Answer:
If the one praying has a sutrah (barrier) in front of him, he must not pass between him and his sutrah, but he may pass behind it. However, if he does not have a sutrah in front of him, the prohibited distance is three cubits. These three cubits begin from his feet, from the feet of the one praying, and extend three cubits in front of him. No one may pass through this area, and there is no harm in passing behind it. It should be noted that if the one praying is a ma'mum (one praying behind the imam) in the rows behind the imam, the imam's sutrah serves as a sutrah for him.
Source
شرح بلوغ المرام من أدلة الأحكام [ صالح الفوزان ]، باب الغسل وحكم الجنب — islamhouse.com (1:02:15)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.