Continuation of the discussion on the ruling regarding the sutrah in prayer.

The Shaykh : In many authentic hadiths, he (peace and blessings be upon him) commanded every person praying, except the one following the imam, to place a sutrah. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: We often tell people and remind them of this hadith, especially when we see someone in a room, for example, praying without a sutrah. His answer, due to his ignorance of this hadith and what comes at its end, is obvious: "Oh Shaykh, there is no one here in the room where I am praying; there is no one to interrupt my prayer." So we answer him: "My brother, there is someone, but you do not see them. There are the devils of the jinn, whom Allah (Mighty and Majestic) described, along with their father and their offspring, in His saying: So do not be deceived by standing in an enclosed room where no one is present except you, and praying however you please, without a sutrah, or far from a sutrah, thinking that no one can pass by. Know that there is a creation you do not see with your eyes. Our Lord (Mighty and Majestic) created them and tested us with them, and they are the devils of the jinn. Therefore, he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: meaning, lest the devil interrupt his prayer. This devil may be from the devils of mankind or from the devils of the jinn. So if you are praying in a place where you think there is no resident or it is unlikely that any human will pass in front of you, remember that there is another creation that can pass in front of you in a manner that is not a physical passage you feel, as you feel the passage of a human being who is created from the same clay from which you were created. Remember this reality, and remember with it that the Prophet (may Allah pray upon him and grant him peace), about whom it is reported in some authentic hadiths, and in a narration or in a precise wording, meaning, he was protected from his evil. With this special attribute by which Allah distinguished His Prophet (may Allah pray upon him and grant him peace), it was reported that one day, while he was standing and praying with his companions, his companions were surprised to see the Prophet (may Allah pray upon him and his family and grant him peace) extend his hand as if grasping something, but the people praying behind him saw nothing. So when he (peace and blessings be upon him) finished his prayer, they asked him about this movement, which was not his habit in his prayer. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said, and here is the point: إنّ شيطانا هجم عليّ وفي يده شعلة من نار يريد أن يفسد عليّ صلاتي فأخذت عنقه بيدي وشددت عليه حتّى وجدت برد لعابه في يدي ولولا دعوة أخي سليمان عليه السّلام ربّ هب لي ملكا لا ينبغي لأحد من بعدي لربطته بسارية من سواري المدينة حتّى يصبح الصبيان يلعبون به A devil pounced on me, holding a flame of fire in his hand, intending to ruin my prayer for me. So I seized him by the neck and tightened my grip on him until I felt the coldness of his saliva in my hand. And had it not been for the supplication of my brother Sulayman (peace be upon him), “My Lord, grant me a kingdom that no one after me will be entitled to,” I would have tied him to one of the pillars of the city until the children would play with him. If the devil intended to corrupt the prayer of the Prophet (may Allah pray upon him and grant him peace), who is the master of mankind and the one protected from sin, and part of his protection is that Allah helped him against his devil so that he was protected, as you heard, then if the Messenger (may Allah pray upon him and grant him peace), with his high status with his Lord, had the devil intending to corrupt his prayer, and the people behind him saw nothing of that, then we must remember this reality when he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Do not imagine that the devil referred to here is only a type or kind of human being. It may be this, or it may be from the devils of the jinn, as you saw in the authentic hadith. Then it came in another hadith, and this also requires attention: The first hadith commands the sutrah; the second hadith contains a new ruling, which is to be close to one's sutrah. The reason is: lest the devil interrupt his prayer. What is the extent of closeness to the sutrah? It came in Sahih al-Bukhari that the distance between the place where the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) prostrated and the sutrah was the passage of a sheep, the measure of a shibr or about a shibr and a half. This means that the person praying does not approach the sutrah so that there is no gap, but he distances himself from it slightly and does not distance himself too much, so that the sutrah ceases to be a legally valid sutrah. The distance is what you heard: the passage of a sheep, the measure of a shibr or a shibr and a half. This is what concerns his (peace and blessings be upon him) command regarding the sutrah and determining the distance between the place of prostration of the person praying and the sutrah. Among the importance of this sutrah in the Shari'ah are matters such as: if you are praying without a sutrah and someone wants to pass in front of you, it is not permissible for you to prevent him. On the contrary, if you are praying with a sutrah and someone wants to pass, our Prophet commands us in his saying: meaning, in the best manner. If he refuses, then fight him, for he is only a devil, meaning from the devils of mankind, and it may be from the devils of the jinn, because among the capabilities and powers of the jinn is that they take the form of humans and others. So the one praying with a sutrah has the right to push back the passerby, and even to fight him. But if he is praying in the open without a sutrah and someone wants to pass in front of him, he does not have this right to block him or push him. More important than this is that there are people who, if they pass in front of the person praying and he is not praying with a sutrah, his prayer becomes invalid. His prayer becomes invalid, and this happens often, especially in the Sacred Mosque and the Prophet's Mosque, and then it spread to many other mosques. This is the saying of the Prophet (may Allah pray upon him and grant him peace), and perhaps I will end the answer to this question with this hadith. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: This hadith also points to... It may be from the devils of the jinn taking the form of humans. So if a woman passes in front of you and you are praying with a sutrah, there is nothing on you and your prayer is valid. But if you are praying without a sutrah, your prayer becomes invalid simply by the passing of the woman, likewise the donkey, and likewise the black dog. Therefore, the Muslim should strive to always pray, without distinction between obligatory and voluntary prayers, with a sutrah. First: in response to the command of the Prophet (may Allah pray upon him and grant him peace). Second: so that he does not fall into the violation of pushing back the passerby if he has not placed a sutrah. Third and finally: so that his prayer does not become invalid if one of the three persons mentioned in the authentic hadith passes in front of him. Please. Raise your voice.