Benefits of the Hadith: (And He knows what the one passing in front of the one praying has upon him...)

The Shaykh : This hadith contains several benefits. One of them is the prohibition of passing in front of the one praying. The reason for this is that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) assigned sin to it, and sin cannot be assigned to an act unless it is forbidden. Another benefit is that the apparent meaning of the hadith indicates there is no difference between praying in an open space, in a mosque, or in one's home, due to the generality of his statement: Another benefit is that there is no difference between the passer cutting off the prayer or not cutting it off. Another benefit is that its apparent meaning is general regarding the one praying, with no difference between one praying a voluntary prayer or one praying an obligatory prayer. Another benefit is that its apparent meaning indicates no difference between the imam, the one praying alone, and the one praying behind an imam. This is because the phrase "in front of the one praying" is unrestricted. As for the imam and the one praying alone, this is clear. As for the one praying behind an imam, the Sunnah indicates an exception for him, as in the case of 'Abdullah ibn 'Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) passing in front of the one praying behind the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in Mina during the Farewell Pilgrimage. Therefore, passing in front of the one praying behind an imam is excepted from this. However, is his passing in front of them and not passing in front of them on the same level? The answer is no, because his passing in front of them disturbs them, and they may be annoyed by it, especially if there are many people and he wants to bow or prostrate; he will be annoyed. But sometimes a person needs to pass in front of the followers praying behind an imam. If there is a need, there is no harm. But without a need, he should not pass in front of them, even if he does not commit a sin. Another benefit of this hadith is that legal rulings are derived from several formulations, either from a command, a prohibition, the assignment of a reward, the assignment of a punishment, or the mention of prohibition or obligation. Thus, rulings are derived from what is assigned to them. Another benefit of this hadith is that if a person is given the choice between standing for forty years or passing in front of the one praying, he should choose standing, because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) made that better for him than passing in front of him. I say: it is sufficient to stand for forty minutes, because the one praying will generally not remain for more than two-thirds of an hour; forty minutes is sufficient. But people now do not stand for forty minutes, nor forty seconds, nor less, even though the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) warned with this warning. Another benefit of this hadith is that evils differ in degree, meaning some are worse than others, just as good deeds differ in degree. The reason for this is his statement: There is no doubt that sins vary, including minor and major sins. Major sins vary, some being greater than others, and so do minor sins. Another benefit of this hadith is that we ask: if the passer passes in front of the one praying, does it invalidate the prayer? This is derived from another evidence. It was said that it does not invalidate the prayer, whether it is a man or a woman, small or large. It was also said that it does invalidate the prayer in the case of the three [creatures] that will be mentioned later, if Allah wills, and this is the correct view. 'Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) said: The time for questions has come, Adam.