What is the ruling on the sutrah in the Haram and elsewhere? What is the ruling on passing in front of the one who is praying? Does a woman or a donkey break the prayer? And what is the meaning of “breaking” here?

The questioner : May Allah reward you, O honorable Shaykh. What is the ruling on the sutrah, and what is the ruling on passing in front of the one who is praying? If a woman, a donkey, or a black dog passes by, does it break the prayer? What is the meaning of breaking the prayer? Also, what is the ruling on the sutrah in the Haram, and does it break the prayer in the Haram? Please give us a ruling, and may Allah reward you.

The Shaykh : Good. By the sutrah, he means that the one who is praying places a barrier in front of him when he prays. This is a recommended practice (sunnah), because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to place a small tent in front of him when he prayed, and there is a command from him regarding this.
But if a person is praying behind an imam, then the imam’s sutrah is his sutrah. It is not permissible for a person to pass between the one who is praying and his sutrah, based on the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): . And based on the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): .
The sutrah in Mecca and elsewhere is the same. For this reason, al-Bukhari titled this issue: “Chapter on the Sutrah in Mecca.”
So Mecca is like any other place. It is not established from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that he distinguished between Mecca and other places. However, if a person stands to pray in the Tawaf area and people are passing in front of him, he has no sanctity. It is permissible for you, while you are performing Tawaf and you see a man praying in the Tawaf area, to pass in front of him, because he is the one who is encroaching on your rights. The Tawaf area is the right of whom? Of the people performing Tawaf, not of the people praying. The one who is praying can pray in any part of the Haram, but the one performing Tawaf cannot perform Tawaf except in the Tawaf area, and there is no dire necessity here. Therefore, if a person passes in front of the one who is praying in the Tawaf area, he commits no sin, because the one who is praying in the Tawaf area is the one who has disregarded his own right and is the one who has encroached on the rights of others.
And consider the saying of Allah the Exalted: . He began with the people performing Tawaf, then the people in i'tikaf, then the bowing and prostrating. And we know that the bowing and prostrating are better than the people performing Tawaf and better than the people in i'tikaf, because the type of prayer is better than the type of Tawaf and better than the type of i'tikaf. So why did He begin with the people performing Tawaf and the people in i'tikaf before the bowing and prostrating?
The scholars said: It is out of consideration for exclusivity. Out of consideration for exclusivity, because Tawaf is specific to what? To the House, to the Sacred Mosque. And i'tikaf is specific to the mosques, and prayer is in any place. Is that clear, everyone? It is mentioned that one of the Caliphs vowed to worship Allah the Exalted with an act of obedience in which no one would share with him. What would you say in the ruling if you were asked? Prayer?
The student: ... .

The Shaykh : No, because he can pray while other people are praying near him or far from him. Fasting?
The student: ... .

The Shaykh : No, because there are other people fasting. So the scholars were asked and they were confused. They said: There is no act of worship in which sharing is not possible. So they went to one of the smartest scholars, and he said: Clear the Tawaf area for him, meaning let him perform Tawaf alone. And in that case, his vow is fulfilled. Why? Because if he performs Tawaf alone, no one shares with him, since Tawaf is specific to the Ka'bah. As for i'tikaf, it is in every mosque. In every mosque in the world where the congregation is established, it is valid for a person to perform i'tikaf in it. As for what is narrated from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in his saying: . The meaning of that is the most complete i'tikaf, as evidenced by his saying: . And he permitted 'Umar ibn al-Khattab to perform i'tikaf for one night in the Sacred Mosque or one day in the Sacred Mosque, and he did not order him to fast. So fasting, which is the counterpart to i'tikaf, is undoubtedly better. And likewise, i'tikaf in the three mosques is better.
As for the condition that i'tikaf must be in the three mosques, no. I'tikaf is in every mosque. And Allah the Exalted said: . If we take “mosques” in its form, which is the form of the extreme plural, and with the article “al” indicating generality, and if we take it to mean three out of millions of mosques, that would mean we have taken the word to its lowest meaning, and this is contrary to what is known. So the word is taken to what? To all its meanings, except with evidence. And on this basis, the saying of Allah the Exalted: is taken to be general, and all mosques are places for i'tikaf. But the most complete is that it be in the three mosques, and that is not a condition.
And based on the intelligence in giving the ruling, it is mentioned that a man made his wife’s divorce conditional on three counts on the adhan of one of the mu'adhdhins, because he used to talk to his wife at night and she would not talk to him, so the time became long for him. He said: If you do not talk to me before the dawn breaks, you are divorced three times. And she was determined not to talk to him, and she did not want him.
So she was silent. She was silent. The earth became narrow for him with all its breadth. He feared what? That the dawn would break and the wife would be divorced. It was as if he was fighting the sun with his hands. The earth became narrow for him with all its breadth. It is said that he went to Imam Abu Hanifah, and Imam Abu Hanifah was one of the smartest of the children of Adam. He said to him: Go to so-and-so the mu'adhdhin, and he was near the man’s house, and he used not to call the adhan except when the dawn broke. Tell him: I have fallen into distress, and tell him the story, and make him stand and call the adhan. The mu'adhdhin had made it a habit to call the adhan before the time. Make him call the adhan, and when he calls the adhan, she will talk to you. And when she talks to you, she has talked to you before the dawn broke. So the man went to the mu'adhdhin and said the words and the story, and that he was in distress. He saw this mu'adhdhin, and although I do not approve of his opinion, he saw that he could relieve this distressed man. So he went and said: Go to your family now, and I will go and call the adhan. So he went to his wife, and the mu'adhdhin went and called the adhan. So the wife said: Praise be to Allah who has freed my neck from you. He said: Praise be to Allah who has tied your neck to me, because now his wife has gone, that’s it.
In any case, I mentioned this story so that a person pays attention, because how many issues become narrow for a person, but he may find a permissible way out for them. Good. Did the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) point to a permissible way out? Or is there in the Qur'an what indicates a permissible way out?
The student: ... .

The Shaykh : Yes. Ayyub. Allah said to him: . Because it was said that he had sworn to strike her one hundred blows, so Allah ordered him to take a bundle of grass and strike with it. And likewise in the Sunnah: . This is a permissible way out. As for ways out to the forbidden, these are not permissible. Every way out to dropping an obligatory act or doing a forbidden act is forbidden. And as for the permissible way out by which one reaches something permissible, then there is nothing wrong with it. What time is it?
The student: There is still time.

The Shaykh : Yes
The student: ... .

The Shaykh : Yes
The student: ... .

The Shaykh : In any case, the electricity guy turned off the electricity. And peace be upon you and Allah’s mercy and blessings.