Benefits of the Hadith: (Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) said: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was asked during the Battle of Tabuk about the sutrah of the one who prays . . . ) .

The Shaykh : In this hadith, there are several benefits: The Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) were eager to ask the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) not merely to know the ruling, but to act upon it, unlike some people today who ask to know the ruling but do not act on it. Thus, if a fatwa is permissible for him, he acts on it, and if it is not permissible for him, he goes to ask another scholar. However, the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) were the opposite of this; they did not ask except when there was a need, and when they asked, they acted on what the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) issued. Among the benefits of this hadith is that the sutrah was considered an established matter among the Companions, because the question was not about the ruling of the sutrah, but about the manner of the sutrah. And among the benefits of this hadith is that the complete sutrah is one that is like the back of a saddle.
If someone were to ask: What is the benefit of placing a sutrah?
The answer is that the benefit, first, is the protection of the privacy of the one who prays, because the space between the one who prays and his sutrah is respected, and it is not permissible for anyone to pass through it. Second, it prevents the gaze from lingering on what is behind the sutrah, and this is a proven fact. The third benefit is that a person feels safe and reassured that no one will pass in front of him because of the sutrah, so he is at peace. Therefore, look at this in the Sacred Mosque: if you place something to serve as a sutrah, people respect it and you feel safe. But if you do not place one, you do not feel safe that a man or a woman might pass in front of you.