He spoke about using a sutrah in all mosques, including the Sacred Mosque.

The Shaykh : ... Then what the worshipper there should observe is that he should try to coordinate with some of his brothers so that they prevent passersby from cutting through his prayer, because the ignorance prevailing regarding an obscure hadith—meaning, among most people, even some scholars—first, its weakness, and second, even if it were authentic, its indication, where they argue with it that the Sacred Mosque is exempt from the sin of passing in front of the worshipper and exempt from the command to use a sutrah. This is a false claim with no basis in the Sunnah. Their doubt in this matter is a hadith narrated in some of the Sunan, such as Sunan al-Nasa'i and others: So we said that this hadith, first, is not authentic in terms of its chain of narration because there is obscurity in it; some of the narrators have not been established as upright. Second, even if this hadith were authentic, it does not state that the circumambulators were passing in front of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), meaning between him and the place of his prostration, because that is what is prohibited and forbidden for the one passing in front of the worshipper: his passing between the worshipper and the place of his prostration. As for if he passes behind the place of prostration, there is no sin on the passerby, even if the worshipper had not used a sutrah. The sin is on this worshipper who did not use a sutrah. So if the passerby passes in front of the worshipper, meaning between him and the place of his prostration, and he is aware and alert, as they do there in the Sacred Mosque—meaning, they argue with you and fight you instead of you fighting them, because the Messenger of Allah, as you know: They fight you because you prevented him from passing in front of you with this false claim that passing in front of worshippers is permitted in the Sacred Mosque.

The questioner : Women...

The Shaykh : Women are more problematic because, in the correct school of thought, this invalidates the prayer. Yes, but this reminds us of the benefit of the sutrah. This is one of the problems of ignorance of the Sunnah. Most pilgrims, or many pilgrims—without exaggerating—many pilgrims have their prayers invalidated by women passing in front of them. The reason is that they did not use a sutrah. It is sufficient for you to use a sutrah: a man sitting, reciting dhikr, sending blessings upon the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and so on. If a woman passes between you and this sitting man, your prayer is valid. But if you stand like this in the Sacred Mosque, in its courtyard, praying while people pass by, men and women, until some of them almost touch your body, and perhaps they knock you down from the crowding, this makes the passing of women invalidate the prayer completely, as if one prayed without wudu. And it diminishes the virtue of the prayer if the passerby is not a woman.
The Shaykh: Therefore, using a sutrah is obligatory in all mosques, including the Sacred Mosque. So, this hadith, first, if you know its weakness in terms of its chain of narration, and you know that its indication is not decisive that the circumambulators were passing between the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and the place of his prostration, and it does not contain this clarification to say that the Sacred Mosque has this special status, then what is built on a defective foundation is defective. This is first. And second, how do we dismiss the decisive texts that command using a sutrah and state that if three types pass in front of the worshipper, including women, the prayer is invalidated unless he has used a sutrah that blocks them? He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Yes?

The questioner : Meaning, is the invalidation of the prayer when a woman passes in front of the worshipper suspended only in the Sacred Mosque...?

The Shaykh : No, no, in all mosques. The hadith is general, as you see, and it clarifies the importance of the sutrah. First, note with me this hadith. Where did they say the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was? In Madinah. So he is addressing the people of Madinah directly, then all Muslims: A span or two spans, to the end of the hadith.

The questioner : You were kind. If a woman passes in front of the worshipper, meaning the worshipper in the Sacred Mosque, and he has a sutrah, and there is a sutrah in front of him, is this ruling suspended only in the Sacred Mosque?

The Shaykh : May Allah forgive you, but I excuse you and excuse myself, meaning, sweat is troublesome, hehehe. My brother, what does the hadith say? What does the hadith we recited say?!

The questioner : Yes, yes, three things cut off the prayer of a man.

The Shaykh : What is he saying about the Sacred Mosque?

The questioner : No, you did not specify. If a woman also passes...

The Shaykh : My brother, this is not called specification. May Allah reward you. This is called mentioning a part of the general text.

The questioner: Yes.

The Shaykh : We are talking about what happens in the Sacred Mosque. So I said that one of the benefits of the sutrah is that it prevents the invalidation of the prayer of the one who uses this sutrah if a woman passes. We are talking about the Sacred Mosque. This is not a restriction and it is not a specification; it is a part of the parts of the general text. I cited the hadith to you repeatedly and finally drew your attention to the fact that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said this hadith where? In Madinah. So he said: I said this in a specific way, then the ruling encompassed all Muslims. So the ruling is general. I only spoke about what happens in the Sacred Mosque. Clear, if Allah wills. Praise be to Allah.
The Shaykh: So the point is, the Sacred Mosque in this matter does not differ from the other mosques of the world. Every worshipper must use a sutrah and must not get involved in what he may hear in this hadith, because first, it is not authentic in its chain, and second, it is not explicit in its indication. And two things must be present in the text: the first is that it be established, even at the lowest degree of establishment among scholars, which is hasan (good). Then it must be either explicit, or it must be probable with a strong likelihood that the ruling is such and such. But if it does not contain this meaning, even with a strong likelihood, and the rulings of the Shari'ah are sometimes built on certainty and sometimes on strong likelihood, neither this nor that is present in the hadith, neither in terms of establishment nor in terms of indication. Then I drew your attention to the fact that, in addition to this, it contradicts the generality of the hadiths that command using a sutrah, especially this last hadith: Therefore, we said that the most decisive action is when the pilgrim or the one performing 'Umrah wants to pray the two rak'ahs of tawaf at the Maqam. It is necessary there for the brothers to cooperate: one stands in the face of whoever passes. For example, I want to pray here, so he stands here. If he sees a man wanting to pass, he prevents him, or if he wants to cross in front of him, he also prevents him, and so on. Then they exchange places; this one becomes in that place and that one in this place, and so on, until the prayer is complete and the person is not occupied with pushing away the one who may pass.
The Shaykh: I actually, on my first Hajj, I found myself almost abandoning my prayer. Why? While I was praying, I could barely place my hand, and so on.

The questioner : Heh.

The Shaykh : In the end, Allah tested me with an Egyptian. The Egyptians at that time were wearing turbans, you know, turbans, hehe. An Egyptian, about forty or forty-five years old, wearing a turban, wanted to pass. I prevented him. He wanted to cross against my will, so I pushed him. At that time, he realized that I was, as they say, a Salafi.

The questioner : Hehehe.

The Shaykh : So he stood over me and did not let me go my way, because I was the one in the wrong in his claim. After I finished the prayer, he shouted in my face. You know the Egyptians; for years, they talk in a way we understand some of it and not the rest. Then he brought in the police officer who stands at the Maqam. The police officer, unfortunately, also employs people who have no knowledge. He said, "O Shaykh, there is a saying that here, meaning, it does not harm, meaning, passing in front of the worshipper." I was new to the mosque and not strong in knowledge, meaning, I relied on my knowledge. I asked, "Do you have scholars here we can ask?" They told us there were in some rooms, which at that time existed, now I do not think they exist except private rooms. By Allah, we were guided and gathered with some scholars of the Council. And the scholars, as you know, differed among themselves. Some said, based on that hadith. And I tell you that my knowledge at that time was, as they say, limited. I was surprised by this hadith; I was surprised, I had no news of it. And some said, "No, passing is not permitted, not in this mosque," meaning, as we adopt now. So that was the key to my research into this hadith, because it occupied my mind. Actually, there was a library called the Sacred Mosque Library, which was moved outside. What is the name of this road? Yes?

The questioner : At the gate of King Abdulaziz.

The Shaykh : ... So the library was a very large room among the rooms of al-Masjid al-Haram. I used to frequent it and I stayed there for a long time, and praise be to Allah, until the 11th of the month of Muharram. I was delayed after Hajj, so my routine was to enter the library and review, especially this hadith. It became clear to me from that day, and I confirmed it, that this hadith is weak. Therefore, I mentioned it in *Da'if Sunan al-Nasa'i*. I also looked at its implication; its implication is not clear at all. So I said, praise be to Allah, that our Lord guided us to this, and we would not have been guided had Allah not guided us. Therefore, my duty is to remind you to be careful that your prayer is not exposed to such ignorant people, and that this does not happen except by the method I mentioned to you, meaning one person prays and another stands in front of him to prevent passersby from passing through...