What is the ruling on men and women passing in front of the one praying in the Haram?
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The questioner : As for those who pass in front of the praying people, especially in the Haram, both women and men, and also interrupt the prayer?
The Shaykh : As for men, they do not interrupt the prayer, but a person is commanded to turn them back. As for women, an adult woman interrupts the prayer if she passes between you and your sutrah, or between you and the place of your prostration if you do not have a sutrah, whether in the Haram or elsewhere. However, if a person cannot find a place to pray except in a place where people pass, such as near the doors, then his prayer is not interrupted due to necessity, because if he were to keep turning people back, the movement in his prayer would increase and invalidate it. Do you understand?
The questioner : I mean, if she is a little far away?
The Shaykh : If she is far away, behind the place of your prostration, it does not harm. It does not harm if she is less than two meters away. For example, in the Haram, there are mats on which you pray; if she is behind the mat, it does not harm, even if she is a woman. Likewise, in the courtyard of the Tawaf, on the tiles, if she passes behind the tiles you are on, it does not harm. Yes.
The Shaykh : As for men, they do not interrupt the prayer, but a person is commanded to turn them back. As for women, an adult woman interrupts the prayer if she passes between you and your sutrah, or between you and the place of your prostration if you do not have a sutrah, whether in the Haram or elsewhere. However, if a person cannot find a place to pray except in a place where people pass, such as near the doors, then his prayer is not interrupted due to necessity, because if he were to keep turning people back, the movement in his prayer would increase and invalidate it. Do you understand?
The questioner : I mean, if she is a little far away?
The Shaykh : If she is far away, behind the place of your prostration, it does not harm. It does not harm if she is less than two meters away. For example, in the Haram, there are mats on which you pray; if she is behind the mat, it does not harm, even if she is a woman. Likewise, in the courtyard of the Tawaf, on the tiles, if she passes behind the tiles you are on, it does not harm. Yes.