What is the ruling on passing in front of the one who is praying?

The Shaykh : Peace be upon you, how are you this evening? I hope you are well. Welcome, welcome. What are you doing? Yes, excuse us, we had a prior agreement with the brothers here... Welcome, welcome, please go ahead.

The questioner : ... .

The Shaykh : ... The sutrah, yes, ... What is required of him? We say that he should not pass in front of him. However, since he has already passed, he is sinful if he was not in a state of dire necessity, otherwise he owes nothing. Yes, that is correct.

The questioner : ... .

The Shaykh : May Allah reward you, because his passing, as you know, if it is not for a dire necessity, is mere play, and it distracts the minds of the worshippers and occupies them from what they are engaged in, which is turning toward the Lord of the Worlds. Yes.

The questioner : ... .

The Shaykh : The passing mentioned in the hadith of Ibn Abbas does not mean that he passed as described in the question, that is, between the imam and the worshippers. Because the phrase "in front of the row" is known to have a very wide scope, and it is not limited to the space between the worshippers and the place of their prostration. Therefore, we should not take this meaning in the narrowest circle, but rather in the broadest sense. That is, passing in front of the row from a distance, and there is no problem with that. Just as some women, for example, pass in front of the worshippers in the prayer area during the festival prayer or otherwise, and that does not harm. As for passing directly in front of the worshippers, and as mentioned in your question, between the imam and the first row of worshippers, what I mentioned to you earlier applies to this.

The questioner : ... .

The Shaykh : Ah, there is nothing wrong with that. May Allah reward you. For example, if a person wants to complete a row and finds no way except to break through the row to reach the second row or something similar. And you know that the one in dire necessity is the one who estimates the extent of his necessity. Yes, that is so. Welcome, welcome, peace be upon you. Yes.

The questioner : We were on the topic of following desires.

The Shaykh : Yes, there is something the scholars say. They say that there is a group among the people of desires who... you cut off the speech in your time...

The questioner : I heard about a group among the people of desires.

The Shaykh : You did not answer my question, may Allah guide you.

The questioner : And beware of that.

The Shaykh : I am not asking you whether it exists or not, do you see how it is? What did I ask you?

The questioner : You cut off this speech.

The Shaykh : By cutting off this speech, I mean, did you treat the scholars who said that so-and-so and so-and-so and so-and-so, by the dozens, indeed by the hundreds, are from the people of desires, with certainty and without hesitation, as you treated your companion? I do not say your shaykh, because perhaps he needs a certificate, and we will postpone that for now. The important thing is, did you treat this word as you treated that word? Or did you cut it off and move on, seeing it as very normal?

The questioner : By Allah, I saw speech like this statement, if I had read it...

The Shaykh : What statement?

The questioner : It is your statement that he is from the people of desires...

The Shaykh : I am not telling you that I am saying the scholars' statement. I am not telling you why you are returning it to me. This is proof that you are putting your burden on my burden.

The questioner : No, no.

The Shaykh : But why did you return it to me?

The questioner : I mean, your quoting it from him, this is your statement that you quoted from him.

The Shaykh : What do you want with all this going back and forth? Now, what is your opinion of one of the previous scholars who says that these people are from the people of desires? Did you approve of them? Did you cut off this speech from them, or did you reject it?

The questioner : By Allah, if they are among the scholars known for knowledge and virtue, why would I not accept it?

The Shaykh : No, no, we still need to catch up with him.

The questioner : Now, approximately, he has cut off half of the vein...

The Shaykh : He is not a poet for now.

The questioner : I know that you are sincere in your statement about that.

The Shaykh : I mean, I know, and because of that you are going around in circles.

The questioner : And it seems to be the opposite of blessing.

The Shaykh : And the poor man is happy with it. Now, if someone asked you, what is against blessing?

The questioner : I mean, he did not know how to answer.

The Shaykh : Our need, O brothers, today, our Lord is going to hold us accountable, and by Allah, with our conversation with...The Shaykh : Ali about this...

The questioner : I want to know why he says he is fanatic about his school of jurisprudence.

The questioner : O Ali, be quiet.

The Shaykh : I mean, that he is a Muslim and there is no blessing for him. By Allah, this matter is very serious. Does he not at least testify that there is no god but Allah and Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah? At least, I say, how can there be no blessing? And he himself, and this is the calamity, what is your opinion of those who say about the people of desires that they are from the people of desires, did they tear their hearts?

The questioner: No.

The Shaykh : Then why did they rule against them?

The questioner : What appeared from them indicated that they were so.

The Shaykh : What is the difference between this statement and that statement?

The questioner : O my professor...

The Shaykh : Ah, squeeze yourself a little, it is good. O Allah, O brothers, our need is that our Lord will hold us accountable later... Glory be to You, O Allah, and praise be to You. I testify that there is no god but You. I seek Your forgiveness and I repent to You.