The Scholars' Statements on the Ruling on Using a Sutrah and the Meaning of Invalidating the Prayer
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The questioner:
Honorable Shaykh, I said that the majority of scholars say that a safr (travel mat) is not a valid sutrah, so how do you describe the hadith of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)?
The Shaykh:
I did not say this from my own opinion; this was said by the commentators and the scholars of knowledge. And we said that the evidence is that the Messenger did not order anyone to repeat the prayer. It is not narrated from him that he ordered anyone to repeat the prayer in his Sunnah (peace and blessings be upon him), even though there must have been people who prayed without a sutrah. In fact, he (peace and blessings be upon him) prayed without a sutrah. In fact, they say that scholarly consensus (ijma') is that using a sutrah is not obligatory, but rather a recommended practice (sunnah). Should one not be strict in these matters?
If the one who says that if he does not pray with a sutrah his prayer is invalid—no scholar of knowledge has said this. And if some of the contemporary scholars say it, that is an anomalous opinion (shadhdh) that is not to be considered. Yes.
The questioner:
Exaggeration. Yes. Exaggeration. The hadith of the child is an exaggeration. Life
The Shaykh:
No, regarding the prohibition of passing by, it is not about the faces. Regarding the prohibition of passing by, the sutrah was only made as a protection. Yes.
Honorable Shaykh, I said that the majority of scholars say that a safr (travel mat) is not a valid sutrah, so how do you describe the hadith of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)?
The Shaykh:
I did not say this from my own opinion; this was said by the commentators and the scholars of knowledge. And we said that the evidence is that the Messenger did not order anyone to repeat the prayer. It is not narrated from him that he ordered anyone to repeat the prayer in his Sunnah (peace and blessings be upon him), even though there must have been people who prayed without a sutrah. In fact, he (peace and blessings be upon him) prayed without a sutrah. In fact, they say that scholarly consensus (ijma') is that using a sutrah is not obligatory, but rather a recommended practice (sunnah). Should one not be strict in these matters?
If the one who says that if he does not pray with a sutrah his prayer is invalid—no scholar of knowledge has said this. And if some of the contemporary scholars say it, that is an anomalous opinion (shadhdh) that is not to be considered. Yes.
The questioner:
Exaggeration. Yes. Exaggeration. The hadith of the child is an exaggeration. Life
The Shaykh:
No, regarding the prohibition of passing by, it is not about the faces. Regarding the prohibition of passing by, the sutrah was only made as a protection. Yes.
Source
شرح بلوغ المرام من أدلة الأحكام [ صالح الفوزان ]، باب سترة المصلي — islamhouse.com (53:27)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.