What is the ruling on the sutrah and approaching it?

The questioner : If a person is praying facing a sutrah, and the distance between him and the sutrah is one meter, but he is certain that no one will pass through that space; has he fulfilled the Sunnah, or is it obligatory for him to move closer to it? May Allah reward you with good.

The Shaykh : I hope that the one who selects the questions chooses new, fresh ones; because a question like this has been repeated many times. And although, as they say, there is benefit in repetition, it may also be tedious for some people if they happen to have heard both the question and the answer before. But since the question has been raised, an answer is necessary, so I say: Yes?

The questioner : ... .

The Shaykh : How?

The questioner : ... .

The Shaykh: Go ahead.

The questioner : ... .

The Shaykh: Yes.

The questioner : ... .

The Shaykh : Is that the end of the question? Good. We must answer the first question, but I will give a brief answer to the second question, if Allah wills, so I will start with that. I say:
The imam’s sutrah is indeed a sutrah for those behind him. So if a masbuq (one who joins the prayer late) is behind by one rak'ah or more, and the imam has finished his prayer with the taslim while the masbuq is still completing his prayer, then if he continues in his prayer, he owes nothing. However, if the sutrah is close to him on his right, left, or in front of him, he should move forward a step or another, provided he does not strain himself in walking, so that if someone sees him, they do not think he is not in prayer. With this condition, if a sutrah is available to him, he should use it as a barrier; because even though he is a masbuq and still in the status of a ma'mum (one praying behind the imam), it is feared that someone might pass in front of him. And the passerby might be one of those who invalidates the prayer, as mentioned in the well-known hadith; it is the hadith of Abu Dharr (may Allah be pleased with him), who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: . They said: What is the matter with the black dog? He said: . So out of fear that something of these three types or others might pass in front of him and cut off his prayer, where "cutting off" means invalidation or means diminishing the reward, he should move forward slightly to the sutrah. Otherwise, he is in the status of a ma'mum following the imam.
As for the answer to the first question regarding the sutrah, I say: The majority of worshippers have been lax in this matter; where one of them enters any mosque, stands in the middle of the mosque, and prays without a sutrah. This is contrary to many hadiths:
The first is the hadith of Abu Dharr mentioned earlier.
The second is hadiths revolving around the following text; which is his saying (peace and blessings be upon him): , and in another wording: .
; this devil is from the jinn who is not seen. If this reality is known, it becomes clear that the question raised just now, and usually raised, that a person is praying in a place where no one is expected to pass in front of him, no one should say this. The passerby in front of him might be of the kind about which our Lord (Mighty and Majestic) said in the Qur'an: , meaning: Iblis the accursed and his offspring; indeed, they see you from where you do not see them. Therefore, one should use a sutrah even if he is in an empty place where no one is expected to pass by him. It was reported in "Sahih Muslim" that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was one day praying with his companions, and they saw him as if he was about to grab something, or he actually grabbed it. When he finished his prayer with the taslim, they asked him about it. He said: إن الشيطان همَّ أن يُلقِيَ شعلةً من نار ، وأن يمرَّ بين يديَّ ، فقبضْتُه ، وكدْتُ أن أخنقَه ؛ حتى وجدْتُ بردَ لُعابه في أصابع يديَّ ، ولولا دعوة أخي سليمان - عليه السلام - رب هب لي ملكًا لا ينبغي لأحد من بعدي لأصبح مربوطًا بسارية من سواري مسجد المدينة يلعب به الصِّبيان Satan intended to throw a spark of fire and to pass in front of me, so I seized him and nearly strangled him, until I felt the coolness of his saliva on my fingers. And if it were not for the supplication of my brother Sulayman (peace be upon him), “My Lord, grant me a kingdom that will not belong to anyone after me,” I would have been tied to one of the pillars of the mosque of Madinah in the morning, with the children playing with him.. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) – the master of mankind and the most humble of the humble before the Lord of the worlds – the devil attempted to cut off his prayer; so what about us?
Therefore, the sutrah is not adopted only to prevent the passage of devils of mankind, but also devils of the jinn. Therefore, one must pay attention to praying facing a sutrah in any place the worshipper is; whether he is in the open or in the mosque. In the mosque, he should approach the sutrah, the wall, the pillar, a person sitting who is praying or remembering Allah, or something similar. And we all know that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to pray the 'Id prayers in the prayer ground, and he would take his spear and it would be set up in front of him, and he would pray facing it. This is his application (peace be upon him) of what he ordered his ummah (the Muslim community) to do, as mentioned earlier: , ; meaning: out of fear that the devil might cut off his prayer.
Allow me, my brother, what am I telling you: "A good question is half of knowledge." You have surprised us with a very strange picture. Say: If I am like this, I will give you the answer now despite what you described. I ask you now: What is the ruling of the sutrah after you have heard his saying (peace and blessings be upon him): , ; is it recommended (mustahabb) or a confirmed obligatory command? Good; and is praying in the first row obligatory? No, it is not obligatory, it is not obligatory. Do not bring evidence. First, be sure of what you say. Are you insisting that the first row is obligatory? If the worshipper prays in the second row, does he become sinful?

The questioner : ... .

The Shaykh : So then; why do you say it is obligatory? Listen, my brother – may Allah guide you – why do you say it is obligatory as long as the one who prays in the second row does not become sinful? Is that not so?

The questioner : ... .

The Shaykh : Good; and the one who is able to pray facing a sutrah and leaves praying facing a sutrah; is he not sinful? This is how the hadiths must be reconciled. We said earlier: If the matter revolves between violating a prohibition and leaving a permissible thing, which is the recommended (mustahabb), which is given priority? The prohibition is given priority over the permissibility. Now, if you leave praying facing a sutrah, you become sinful, and this is prohibited. And if you leave praying in the first row, you are not sinful.
Based on this, I tell you: If you pray here as you described to me a mosque like this, and I rarely find a mosque in the world that is empty of a pillar or a column, you are like this and I am walking with you; because we have a saying in Syria: "If you don't come with me, I will come with you." Now I imagine the mosque like this. You do not find such a corner, you see there, you might be able to use it as a sutrah. You did not find anything except to move forward. If you move forward and pray here, and the prayer is established, and then you are late, do they invite you to pray in front of the imam or do they open a path for you? Tell me one? Good; this path is either opened for you in the first, second, or third row. The important thing is you will find a place for you in a row, either the first, second, or whatever Allah wills. And by that, you will not be sinful. But if you insist on praying in the first row and not facing a sutrah, it is feared that you will ruin your prayer. Therefore: "The prohibition is given priority over the permissibility." And this is a rule that, in reality, I have touched with my hand. A rule that if a Muslim applies it in dozens of matters, he will be successful in them and a jurist in them – if Allah wills (Blessed and Exalted is He).
In conclusion: The sutrah is obligatory. Therefore, I see that the imams should pray in the middle of the mosque, and not place a sutrah in front of them. And this is due to their negligence of these hadiths, and of the specific Hanbali school of jurisprudence which invalidates the prayer by the passage of something of these three things, due to the authenticity of the hadith regarding that from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him).
Please proceed.