Ibn Battal and Qadi Iyad reported the consensus that it is not permissible for the one praying to move forward to turn back someone who wants to pass in front of him, because that is more severe than passing?

The questioner : The next question, Your Eminence,The Shaykh : says,The questioner : Ibn Battal and Qadi Iyad reported the consensus that it is not permissible for the one praying to move forward to turn back someone who wants to pass between him and his sutrah; because that is more severe than passing. And it is established that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) walked until he pressed his belly against the wall, and a sheep passed behind him. What is your opinion of this statement? And how do we reconcile the reason mentioned for the consensus, or in the consensus, which is that this moving forward is a great action, with the walking of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) to open the door? And may Allah reward you with good.

The Shaykh : What exactly is reported from the Qadi? And what is the second one?

The questioner : He saysThe questioner : Ibn Battal and Qadi Iyad reported the consensus that it is not permissible for the one praying to move forward to turn back someone who wants to pass between him and his sutrah; because that is more severe than passing.

The Shaykh : The truth is that this report has a great degree of scrutiny, and it is impossible for the consensus to be correctly reported; because first, it is one of the theoretical issues where it is not possible to reach knowledge of the opinion of all Muslim scholars, whether those who came before or after; because a consensus like this reported in such a theoretical issue is like the phoenix, a name without a body. Who is it that can go through all the scholars in every era to gather their statements and unify their opinions, and then reach the time of the one who reported it, this Qadi and others, that the consensus occurred that it is not permissible to move forward to turn back the passer; because it is more erroneous than passing.
I say:
First: To refute this alleged consensus, there is the hadith mentioned in the question that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was praying when he noticed that a sheep wanted to pass in front of him, so he hurried ahead of it—meaning he preceded it—until he pressed his belly against the wall, and it passed behind him. This is an authentic hadith; so how can a consensus be established contrary to it?
Second: It is authentic from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): , and there is no doubt that fighting is more severe than walking a step or two steps.
Third—and finally: To prevent the passer in front of the one praying, the matter does not require moving forward.
And now it occurs to me that perhaps this alleged consensus is not about when one wants to pass between the one praying and his sutrah, but rather that the man did not take a sutrah, and the passer passes far from him; such that if he wanted to prevent him with his hand—as he (peace and blessings be upon him) indicated earlier in the authentic hadith—the passer would not be long and he would not be able to prevent him; so he moves forward to prevent him. Here it can be said that this statement is correct regardless of the consensus; because the consensus cannot be valid in this issue. Otherwise, why did the phrase mentioned earlier restrict it to moving forward to prevent the passer, while the one standing in prayer has a sutrah in front of him, and he—as you know—in the Sunnah should not be far from the sutrah; except by the amount of a handbreadth or the passage of a sheep, as came in some hadiths between the place of his prostration and the place of the sutrah? So usually, if the passer wants to pass between him and the sutrah, it is sufficient for him to prevent him by extending his hand. As for if he wants to pass behind the place of prostration—that is, behind the curtain—this first does not harm him. As for in the case of not taking a sutrah, if the passer passes in front of him, and he wants to prevent him, even if he is close, it is not permissible for him to prevent him; because he did not place the marker, which is the sutrah that announces that passing is prohibited. This is a noble Prophetic convention. Now, passing is prohibited, a sign you know for cars. So this—this sutrah—the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) made it a sign for the one who sees and looks at it; that it is not permissible to pass in front of him. So if he passes behind it, there is no harm. And if he is not placing it and he passes in front of him, he does not have the right to prevent him; because he fell short in applying the Sunnah. Therefore, he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: . If there is not in front of him, the prayer is cut off. But if there is in front of him, it does not harm him who passes in front of him if he is overcome by the matter. As for this, the ruling of the prayer is that it is valid if he has placed the sutrah, but the prayer is invalid if he has not placed the sutrah.
Likewise, if he did not place the sutrah, it is not permissible for him to prevent, and the prayer is either invalid or its reward is diminished by the passing of these three types: the woman, the donkey, and the black dog. They said: O Messenger of Allah, what is the matter with the black dog? He said: .
Other than that?