Is it permissible, as they claim, to pass in front of a person praying in the Sacred Mosque, especially during the days of Hajj?

The questioner : The third question: Is it permissible, as they claim, to pass in front of a person praying in the Sacred Mosque, especially during the days of Hajj, due to the extreme crowding of people?

The Shaykh : Passing in front of a person is entirely prohibited, as you know, in authentic hadiths, such as his saying (peace and blessings be upon him) There is absolutely no difference between the Sacred Mosque or the Prophet’s Mosque and other mosques regarding this ruling. However, any passing that is permissible in any small or large mosque is also permissible in the Sacred Mosque and the Prophet’s Mosque. And any passing that is not permissible in that mosque is not permissible in these mosques. People today are afflicted with two trials: one is scholarly and the other is practical. As for the scholarly trial, it is that many scholars issue fatwas without verifying what they are ruling on for people, claiming that it is not obligatory to pray facing a sutrah in the Sacred Mosque and that the Sacred Mosque is exempt from the rulings of the sutrah, which are established in books of hadith and jurisprudence. This is an error. They rely on a hadith that is first, not authentic, and second, even if it were authentic, it does not indicate that the prohibited passing is absolutely permissible in the Sacred Mosque. This is the scholarly trial. As for the practical trial, it is that people who are afflicted with consuming riba (usury or interest) and dealing in prohibited and riba-based transactions, selling what is not permissible and what aids in wrongdoing, and the like, do not care about applying the rulings of the Shari'ah. Do you know the two trials?

The questioner : Yes.

The Shaykh : A scholarly trial and a practical trial. And in that is a message, if Allah wills.