Explanation of the Book of Prayer-11

The Shaykh : Then the author (may Allah have mercy on him) said, in what he quoted from the Companions: "And from Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said:

When anyone of you performs prayer, let him put something in front of him. If he cannot find anything then let him put a stick. If he cannot find one, then let him draw a line. Then it will not matter if anything passes in front of him.

إذا صلّى أحدكم فليجعل تلقاء وجهه شيئاً، فإن لم يجد فلينصب عصا، فإن لم يجد فليخط خطاً، ثم لا يضره من مر بين يديه

Sunan Ibn Majah 943Da’if (Darussalam)

. It was narrated by Ahmad and Ibn Majah, and Ibn Hibban graded it as authentic. The one who claimed that it is confused was mistaken; rather, it is good."
His statement: "When one of you prays" means when he intends to pray, decisively. If we were to take its apparent meaning, it would mean when he has finished the prayer, which is certainly not intended. "When one of you prays" means when one of you intends to pray.
If someone were to ask, "What is the benefit of using the verb for the intention?" We say the benefit of that is that it becomes clear to the addressee that the intended meaning is a firm intention, which leads to, or necessitates, what? The action. This is the benefit of expressing the intention with the verb. Therefore, if a person intends to pray but will pray in an hour or two, this action is not considered the counterpart of the intention. However, the action is considered the counterpart of the intention if the intention is close to the action.
And his statement: "something" means something higher than a stick, as evidenced by his statement?
The student: ...

The Shaykh : means if he does not find it, which signifies the transition from a higher state to a lower one. Accordingly, the intended meaning of "something," even though it is indefinite, is something higher than a stick, such as?
The student: The back of a saddle.

The Shaykh : The back of a saddle, such as the back of a saddle, he sets it up upright and does not lay it on the ground, except if the ground is hard and he cannot stick it into it. In that case, he places it horizontally; he places it horizontally, not vertically. How does he draw a line? Does he draw it vertically or horizontally? Horizontally. Some said it should be made curved; he makes it curved. But the hadith, as you see, is general. There is no doubt that the intended meaning is horizontal. But should he make it curved or straight? The matter is broad in this regard.
, "in front of him" means from behind this barrier. The intended meaning of "in front of him" is not between him and the barrier, but rather that he passed in front of him from behind this barrier. Ibn Hajar (may Allah have mercy on him) said: "It was narrated by Ahmad and Ibn Majah, and Ibn Hibban graded it as authentic. The one who claimed that it is confused was mistaken", and he is Ibn al-Salah (may Allah have mercy on him). He said: "The one who claimed that it is confused" did not specify his name for two reasons: The first reason is that there is no need to mention the name because the intended point is the ruling. Second, it may be that someone other than Ibn al-Salah claims that it is confused, so the lack of specification is beneficial for generality, meaning everyone who claimed it. Confusion is the disagreement of narrators in a hadith such that it cannot be reconciled or preferred. It is known that abrogation requires the abrogating text to be later. So if we find a hadith in which the narrators disagreed, whether in its chain or its text, in a way that cannot be reconciled or preferred, we know that it is what? Confused, unless we know that one of the two rulings is later, in which case it becomes the abrogating one.